


I wear high heels (she wears sneakers)

by mogirl97



Series: i think i know where you belong (i think i know it's with me) [1]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Quarterback!Kara, you know i can't resist a sports au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2019-12-30 03:11:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 27,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18307010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mogirl97/pseuds/mogirl97
Summary: “Lena. It’s not just about football.” Kara waved her hands around emphatically, “It’s about school spirit and hanging out with your friends—“ Lena didn’t want to bring up the fact that she didn’t have any friends to hang out with. “—and watching me obliterate a bunch of guys’ egos and going out for celebratory Big Belly Burger afterwards.”~A Supercorp High School AU~





	1. part 1: friends

**Author's Note:**

> hi friends! so a while back i wrote a dinahlicity highschool au that had a cameo from lena and kara and i decided that they needed their own installment so that's how this happened. you don't have to read the dinahlicity part if you don't want to, but i grouped them together in a series for easy access. i'm still getting into the groove of writing supercorp, but i love writing them so hopefully i've done a good job with their characterization. i would love to hear your thoughts :D enjoy!!

“Typically students don’t start applying for colleges until their Senior year Lena.” 

“I know, I know. I just wanted to make sure that I’m on the right track for MIT. Did you know that the acceptance rate is only 7.81 percent? That’s really low.”

The guidance counselor peered over her glasses at her, folding her hands together on top of her desk. “I am aware.”

Miss Owens was young and pretty with long red hair that she wore braided over her shoulder and a seemingly endless collection of dresses in different novelty prints. She reminded Lena of Ms. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus and had been delighted at the comparison when Lena told her so.

“So is there anything I should have on my schedule for this year that I don’t?” Lena asked, gesturing at said schedule laid out on the desktop.

Miss Owens looked down at it for a second before looking back up at her, “Yes.”

Lena felt a jolt of panic. She had poured over her options for Junior year, cramming in as many advanced courses as the school would allow her to. And it wasn’t going to be enough?

“ _Fun_ , Lena,” Miss Owens continued, and Lena released her white knuckle grip on the arms of her chair. “You should try to have some fun. Make some memories that are unrelated to Calc 3 and Advanced Chemistry.”

Lena laughed dismissively. “Fun is not a word in my mother’s vocabulary.”

From as early as she could remember, everything in her life had revolved around being the smartest, the cleverest, the most successful at things that awarded you power and influence. Fun was a waste of time in the Luthor household. Things had gotten worse since Lex had left for college and her mother had turned on her all the attention she had withheld for the past decade. It was as though she had finally accepted that Lena was a Luthor and therefore could ruin their reputation if she failed to make something valuable of herself, and she couldn’t allow that to happen.   

“Well, I won’t tell her if you don’t,” Miss Owens offered with a wink. “Lena, you already have one of the most impressive transcripts I’ve seen in all of my years in this position, and you still have two more years before you graduate. Enjoy them.”

Already she had started counting down the days until she was done with high school and could get out of the house that on most days felt like a prison. She couldn’t imagine anything making the next two years remarkably enjoyable or fun.

Instead of making any promises to her guidance counselor that she would heed her advice, she rose from her chair and gathered up her things, “Can’t be late for the first day. Thank you for taking the time to meet with me.”

“You’re welcome. You know my door is open any time for you.”

Lena dipped her head in appreciation before exiting the office. She had only made it a few paces down the hall towards her locker when she ran into someone coming out of a door labeled as the girl’s locker room. In surprise, she dropped her file with her schedule and transcript, scattering papers on the floor. 

“Oh! I’m so sorry. Let me help you.”

The girl who had bumped into her ducked down to pick up the papers. She was wearing a pair of loose, ripped jean shorts with a soft gray t-shirt tucked into them—her hair still damp from the shower, and when she stood up, Lena instantly recognized her. _Kara Danvers_. A fellow Junior, and the first girl to play as quarterback in National City High’s football history. They had first met in AP Calculus their Freshman year, where Lena discovered that Kara didn’t just have a canon for an arm, but she was brilliant too. She wouldn’t exactly consider them friends, since Kara mostly hung out with the other football players and cheerleaders, but they were friendly acquaintances and had been in a few classes together the year before as well.

A smile that felt like sunshine spread across Kara’s face when she saw who she had bumped into, handing over the dropped papers. “Sorry about that Lena. I don’t know how I manage to play football with how clumsy I am off the field.” She adjusted her glasses in an adorably self-conscious gesture before asking, “How was your summer?”

“It was good. My family did a lot of traveling in Europe. Italy, France, England, Ireland…” she trailed off, suddenly feeling awkward.

_Did that sound pretentious?_

It was hard making real friends when your last name was emblazoned on the building a few blocks away from the school—a reminder to her classmates of her family’s immense power and wealth that made her seem like someone to either take advantage of (at their own risk) or avoid.

Kara didn’t seem to catch on to her discomfort though, her demeanor genuine when she replied, “Wow that must’ve been so exciting! I did a little traveling myself, to Kansas.”

“Kansas?” was out of Lena’s mouth before she could hold her tongue, and she hoped it didn’t make her come across as snobby.

“Yep! My cousin lives there. I got to help out on the family farm for a few weeks before I had to come back for summer practices.”

Lena noticed a spray of freckles over Kara’s nose and cheeks and could instantly picture her working hard out under the sun baling hay—or whatever it was people did on farms.

“That sounds nice.”

She meant it. In all honesty she probably would’ve traded that for her European tour if it had meant a few weeks reprieve from her mother.

“It was. I don’t get to see Clark very much, but we’re still pretty close and he’s my only connection to my biological family. It’s always fun when we spend time together.”

Lena had forgotten that Kara was adopted, a commonality between them. She wondered briefly what her life would’ve been like if she had ended up in a normal family like the Danvers.

They continued exchanging stories about summer break as they made their way down the hall—stopping at Lena’s locker before continuing on until she paused, realizing they had arrived at her homeroom classroom. She was about to tell Kara she would see her later when she stepped inside the room herself, continuing to talk about the truck she had helped her cousin fix up.

Kara had never seemed to care that she was a Luthor, that at least half the city thought her family was certifiably evil. Maybe they _were_ friends. Maybe they could sit next to each other in homeroom...

“So then we went to—Luce!” Kara’s attention was grabbed by Lucy Lane, captain of the cheer squad, sitting in the back of the room. “Why didn’t you tell me your sister was going to college in Metropolis—did you know she’s dating my cousin?”

“WHAT? Lois never tells me anything!” Lucy pointed at the lone empty desk next to her. “I saved you a spot. Come. Spill.”

Or maybe not.

Lena schooled her features, careful not to show any disappointment when Kara tossed a parting smile at her and said, _“it was nice talking to you Lena,”_ before taking the spot next to Lucy and jumping into conversation with her.

Surveying the room, Lena slid into one of the desks in the front corner and pulled out her Kindle to continue the biography on Ada Lovelace she was reading.

Despite what Miss Owens thought, her rigorous academic coursework would provide her with plenty of fun, and she didn't need a friend to get into MIT. She needed to focus.

_Avoid distractions._

* * *

“Hey Lena!”

Lena whipped her head around in confusion, looking for the source of the voice, and found Kara waving at her from the edge of the football field, looking like a Nike ad. She was surprised the company hadn’t tapped Kara for an ad spot yet. Girl quarterback kind of seemed like a thing they would want to capitalize on.

Practice was clearly about to begin session and a group of players were now staring at her thanks to their quarterback announcing her presence. She felt a blush rising on her cheeks. The guys on the football team were the last people she wanted to draw unnecessary attention from. Her driver was waiting for her at the curb a few yards away, she could easily pretend she hadn’t heard Kara—

_Except that you made eye contact with her Lena._

She waved back awkwardly before turning her gaze to the ground and making a beeline for the car.

“Did you have a good first day Miss Luthor?” her driver asked, opening the door for her.

She practically vaulted into the backseat, mumbling a “yes” in response. Usually, she considered herself a pretty composed person—growing up in the Luthor home had required learning how to handle social situations with an aloof detachment from emotions—so what had _that_ been about?

* * *

The next morning, she did a double take when she arrived at her locker and saw Kara standing there. Like she was waiting for her.

She had on a pair of athletic shorts and an oversized National City Football t-shirt that had the sleeves sloppily rolled to reveal her biceps. Her wet, fresh from the shower hair was pulled back into a messy bun—Kara had told her the day before that she had team conditioning workouts in the weight room in the mornings—and she was looking down at her phone, oblivious to Lena standing a few feet away. Which was good. Because she was staring.

Kara looked up at her, noticing her arrival, and Lena blinked.

“Lena. Hey.”

“Hey…?” She stepped up to her locker, fumbling with the combination before finally getting it open.

“So I’m having some people over on Friday night to watch the meteor shower in my backyard. Kind of a last hurrah of summer sort of thing… I meant to mention it to you yesterday, but I totally forgot and—”

“Yo KD!”

They both turned their attention to a group of the football players walking down the hall towards them. Lena didn’t know their names because she didn’t care to.

“We’re on for Friday,” another one of them announced as they passed by.

“Good! Bring snacks!” Kara called after them before turning her attention back to her, “So Friday? You don’t have to bring a snack, only if you want to.”

“I’m…” Lena looked down at her feet to avoid meeting her gaze. Kara’s slightly scuffed sneakers were almost toe to toe with her polished leather knee-high boots. She was surprised that a part of her really wanted to tell Kara she’d be there. But that part was small in comparison to the rest of her that was actually thinking rationally. “I’m probably going to have a lot of homework to do.”

“On a Friday night? On the first week of school?”

“I like to get ahead. And I have a lot of hard classes this year.”

_And I can’t afford any distractions._

Something about Kara Danvers was unsettlingly distracting.

“Oh. Umm… okay. Well, if you change your mind...”

Lena looked up to see Kara scribbling something on a piece of paper before handing it to her.

“Meteor shower starts getting really good at 10. But I think most people are planning on getting there around 8.”  

Lena looked down at the slip of paper to see Kara’s address in slightly sloppy penmanship from being written out on an uneven surface.

“You want to walk to homeroom together?” Kara asked.

She didn’t want a repeat of the day before. Her trailing Kara into the classroom like a lost puppy only to be ditched for her friends. The invite to the party on Friday had probably been a pity one.

_Maybe_ Kara was somehow in cahoots with Miss Owens to get her to do something “fun.”  

Okay… that seemed a little unlikely. Not everything was a Luthor family style conspiracy plot. But still, if she went she would just be the awkward loner that no one could figure out how or why had been invited. And no part of her was interested in that.

“I have to stop at the bathroom first. So you can go on ahead.”

“Okay.” Kara turned to go before adding over her shoulder with a hopeful smile, “I’ll see you around Lena.”

* * *

Friday night rolled around and Lena was trying so hard to focus on the notes she was revising from her World Literature class, but her phone was enticing her from the corner of her desk. Curiosity finally got the best of her and she reached for it, opening up Instagram and finding Kara’s profile. It was blessedly public and Lena tapped on Kara’s rainbow circled profile photo to view her story.

Moving from her desk chair, she went to lie down on her bed as pictures and video clips flowed across her screen: Lucy attempting to teach some of the football players how to do a backflip on the Danver’s trampoline, Kara’s laugh ringing out in the background as she filmed. People playing board games at picnic tables illuminated by back porch lights. A selfie with a guy she vaguely recognized…

He was tagged and she tapped on her screen to toggle over to the profile of Winn Schott, realizing then that she recognized him because he was in her programming class. She was surprised to see several pictures on his page of him and Kara—she hadn’t realized they were friends. To be fair, she didn’t really pay much attention to the social dynamics at school, she just sort of made assumptions about who hung out with who… and maybe her assumptions were wrong. Maybe real life wasn’t some cliche high school movie and the queen of the jocks genuinely wanted to be her friend.

Instead of returning to her revisions, she started to comb through the Instagram stories of several other people from school—watching the flag football game that had broken out, Lucy getting a piggyback ride from James Olsen into the endzone to score a touchdown. Mrs. Danvers’ homemade pies being devoured. Countless clips of the meteor shower beginning to flash across the sky with captions like, _“the video just doesn’t do it justice!!!_ ,” which prompted her to go outside on her balcony and take a look for herself.

Pulling her coat more tightly around her to shield against the whisper of fall weather that was starting to creep in, her hand touched on a piece of paper in her pocket and she extracted it. It was the, now very crinkled, note from Kara with her address. She tipped her head back to look up at the sky and wondered if Kara was disappointed she hadn’t shown up. It was a full crowd at the Danvers residence, could her presence have actually made that much of a difference?   

On her way back inside, she paused at her desk and looked at her abandoned homework. She had let herself get distracted, _soooo_ distracted. But she didn’t feel as guilty about it as she thought she would.

Instead she just felt kind of sad. And alone.

* * *

“You had Mrs. Matthews for Advanced A&P last year, right?”

Lena startled, turning to see Kara standing behind her at her locker Monday morning, an expectant look on her face. More surprising than Kara’s presence was what she was wearing. Instead of her usual t-shirts and ripped denim or running shorts, she had on a crisp pair of khakis with a navy blue button down shirt neatly tucked in. And a tie. She was wearing a tie.

It took Lena’s brain a few seconds to process that she had been asked a question and she was trying to figure out why she was starting to sweat despite the arctic chill of the school’s air conditioning.  

Eventually, she managed to find her voice but instead of answering Kara’s question she surprised herself and said, “You look nice.”

Kara looked down at her outfit and then back up at her and there was a faint pink on her cheeks that was probably just from the sun and had probably been there the whole time and wasn’t a result of being complimented by her.

“Thanks. It’s meet the team night tonight, so coach wanted us to dress like it’s a game day. All professional.”

“Oh. Well…” Lena took a deep breath, remembering why Kara had approached her in the first place. “I had Mrs. Matthews.”  

“Is it true that her tests make people cry? Because my older sister had her, and she said that the class was harder than the one she took her freshman year of college for her BioMed program. I’m a little scared.”

“She’s tough with her exams,” Lena conceded, her mental capacities returning to semi-normal functioning. “But she’s also a really good teacher. I learned a lot from that class. You’ll be fine. You’re super smart.”

“I didn't feel smart in lecture last week.”

Lena laughed, a memory resurfacing from her first day of Sophomore year, “She purposefully makes the first week go way over everyone’s head to get people to drop the class who won’t take it seriously. Trust me, today should be better, but there’ll probably be a lot more empty seats.”

Kara blew out a sigh of relief, “Okay. Good to know. Any other helpful insights?”

Lena looked over at Kara, who had moved to lean against the bay of lockers with her arms crossed over her chest and was biting her lip nervously. It was a sharp contrast to quarterback Kara who always looked so confident and… intimidating. Maybe that was why—

“I could help you study,” Lena blurted out, surprising herself. “If you wanted. I mean, I’m sure football keeps you really busy and I kept all my study guides and flashcards so...”

That warm, sunshine-y smile of hers appeared on Kara’s face and Lena swallowed, dipping her head shyly as Kara replied with, “I would love that.”

* * *

And that was how, that Thursday evening, Lena ended up at the kitchen table at the Danvers’ house. She had stayed late at school, “watching” football practice (reading her book on the bleachers and stealing the occasional glance at the happenings on the field), and gone home with Kara—who belted along to showtunes the entire drive with a voice of a leading lady. Apparently her talents were multifaceted.

“So the key to these exams is staying on top of the material. You can’t cram for these.” At that, Kara raised a challenging eyebrow and Lena leveled her with a look, “I’m serious. You can’t. And Mrs. Matthews loves giving pop quizzes, you have to be prepared.”

Kara looked chastened and she nodded, “Okay. No cramming. Frequent studying. Forget about my social life.”

Lena stifled an eye roll, tapping her pen on the table, “Well that might be a tad dramatic.”

“Says the girl who couldn’t come to my party on the _first week of school_ because she had to do homework,” Kara teased.

Lena cleared her throat awkwardly and opened her notebook, “We should get started…”

They spent almost two hours going over the material that Mrs. Matthews had covered in lecture so far. It took them that long because, for as smart as she was, Kara had the attention span of a squirrel and tried to divert them to off-topic conversation every five minutes. Lena wanted to give in, she wanted to talk about what her favorite movies were instead of the nervous system, but keeping this strictly a study date— _session, study session_ — felt more comfortable. Being around Kara made her feel like she was in a spin class—her heart beating noticeably and a full deep breath a little hard to come by— and she wasn’t sure if it was because she was waiting for the moment to arise when someone would pop out with a camera and be like, “You just got punk’d! You really thought that the most popular girl in school wanted to be friends with _you_.”

Her mother’s outright dismissal of her for most of her life combined with Lex’s belittling hadn’t exactly done much for her self-esteem.

Or maybe the reason she felt so flustered was something else entirely. Something she couldn’t quite explain even to herself.  

“So we have our first home football game tomorrow night,” Kara mentioned as Lena was packing up her things to go.

“I’m aware.”

It was kind of hard not to be, even for someone like her who couldn’t care less about football. There had been reminders on the morning announcements every day that week about the upcoming season opener and the pep rally that was going to be held the day of the game.

“Are you going?”

“I… wasn’t planning on it. Football's not really my thing,” she confessed.

“Lena. It’s not just about football.” Kara waved her hands around emphatically, “It’s about school spirit and hanging out with your friends—“ Lena didn’t want to bring up the fact that she didn’t have any friends to hang out with. “—and watching me obliterate a bunch of guys’ egos and going out for celebratory Big Belly Burger afterwards.”

She hesitated for a moment before offering, “I’ll consider it. If I’m free.”

_Which is code for: I’m not going to be free because I just made plans with myself and Netflix._

Kara pouted—as if she had read her mind, before giving her one of her trademark warm smiles, “Well, thank you for your help today. I feel a lot better now about the potential for there being a pop quiz tomorrow.”

“You’re going to have no problems with this class Kara, you don’t really need my help.”

An out. She was giving her an out.

Kara shrugged, “Maybe. But then I’d have to come up with another idea to get you to want to hang out with me.”

Before Lena had a chance to overthink that sentence, her phone buzzed, announcing her driver’s arrival and she said a quick goodbye before leaving the house.

* * *

Lena was halfway through an episode of Chef’s Table and was about to open the Postmates app to find something for dinner that might be comparable to the Thai food being prepared on-screen when she felt the pang of loneliness she had experienced the Friday before. Her mind drifted to school, where the football game had probably just started. The excitement in the halls that day had been palpable, boosted by the pep rally and Coach J’s declaration that he believed they could go undefeated that season.

The pep rally during which she had ended up crammed onto the bleachers next to Winn Schott.

_“It’s Winn, right?”_

_He turned to her, surprise lining his features. She couldn’t blame him, she hadn’t exactly established a reputation for herself as someone who initiated conversations._

_“Yeah.”_

_“Lena,” she introduced herself._

_“I know. We have programming together.”_

_“Oh. Yeah. I wasn’t sure you knew who I was.”_

_“Kinda hard not to when Kara’s always talking about you.” He looked for a second like he said something he shouldn’t have and he quickly added, “Not like always, always. Not in a creepy way. She just mentioned that you’re helping her study for A &P.”_

_Lena looked over to where Kara was standing on the stage surrounded by her teammates while Coach J talked about how much effort the team put into their summer conditioning to be able to “run with any team all the way through the fourth quarter.”_

_“I didn’t know you guys were so close.”_

_At least she hadn’t until she stalked Kara on social media the week before._

_Winn narrowed his eyes, “Because I’m the kind of person the football players are supposed to stuff in lockers?”_

_“I—well, no, but—”_

_He grinned at her flustered fumbling, “We’ve been best friends since her family moved here from Midvale when we were in sixth grade—before Coach J saw her playing in the middle school powderpuff game and turned a gangly awkward seventh grader who could throw into his star quarterback.”_

_Lena had still been attending her dreadful boarding school then, so she couldn’t imagine Kara as anything other than the girl who had sat down next to her on the first day of Calc freshman year—built like a superhero and looking like she should be in a Nike ad._

_“Kara doesn’t care about being popular,” Winn continued. “I mean, she wants everyone to like her… but there’s a difference, you know?”_

Instead of opening the Postmates app, Lena texted her driver and thirty minutes later she was being dropped off at the high school. She could hear the marching band playing the halftime show as she approached the stadium. The bleachers were packed full of people but she found an empty space near the top where she could slip away easily once the game was over. Lena looked over to the scoreboard and saw that they were well ahead of the visiting team.

When the marching band finished up, the players returned to the field and Lena leaned forward in her seat a bit to watch the first play unfold.

Kara was _good._ Logically, Lena had already known that had to be the case. You didn’t become the first girl to wear a football jersey—much less the quarterback’s jersey—in school history if you weren’t a good player, but it was different seeing it for herself. Watching Kara launch balls across the field in laser accurate passes was mesmerizing.

Much to her surprise, by the time the final whistle blew, she realized that the time had gone by quickly and she had... _sort of enjoyed herself?_

While the crowd cheered in excitement over the win, she left the stadium and headed back out to the parking lot where she hesitated to let her driver know she was ready to be picked up. Was it stupid to wait around to congratulate Kara? Probably.

“Lena?”

She looked up from her phone to see her guidance counselor approaching her, holding hands with a woman she didn’t recognize. Instead of one of her usual dresses, Miss Owens was wearing jeans and a National City High sweatshirt, but her style was still represented with polka dotted Vans and her hair in its signature braid.

“Do my eyes deceive me?” her smile was teasing. “Lena Luthor at a football game?”

Lena shrugged, “I thought I’d see what the hype was all about.”

She looked to Miss Owens’ hand-holding companion curiously and her guidance counselor introduced them, “Grace, this is Lena. Lena, this is my fiance Grace.”

Lena’s eyes widened in surprise, “Oh. I didn’t know you were… engaged.”

“Well, my job is to talk to my students about themselves, not me.”

“And she _loves_ to talk about her students,” Grace chimed in fondly. Lena stiffened, thinking about all the things she had told Miss Owens about her relationship with her mother in confidence, and Grace hastily added,  “Not the personal, confidential stuff of course. She’s just really proud of everyone’s accomplishments. You’re the one who wants to go to MIT, right?”

Lena nodded, her shoulders relaxing, and Miss Owens remarked, “Grace went to CalTech. She keeps telling me I need to try to sway your decision.”

“Boston is cold.” Grace pointed out, eliciting a laugh. “ _Really_ cold.”  

Lena spent a few more minutes talking to them before they excused themselves and she reached for her phone to send the text she had started to compose to her driver earlier.

“Hey! Hey Lena!”

She turned and saw Kara jogging towards her and she froze, feeling her heart start up its staccato rhythm she had come to associate with the quarterback’s presence.

“You made it.”

“Yeah.” Lena stuffed her hands into her pockets. “Great game. You played well.”

Kara beamed, “Thanks. They were an easy win, we have much harder opponents coming up, but I’m feeling good about our chances for the season. We were really synced up.” She tilted her head towards a cluster of people standing around their cars, “A bunch of us are going to Big Belly Burger, you want to come?”

“I…” Lena debated in her head for a moment, hearing both Miss Owens’ voice telling her she needed to have some fun and her mother’s telling her that she would never get into MIT if she left her prestigious (misery inducing) boarding school only to get dragged into trivial, distracting pursuits with people who would peak in high school, before going with, “No.”

Kara’s face fell, “You sure?”

“My driver is already on his way. I have some stuff I have to do at home…”

_Like what Lena? Organize your bookshelf? Avoid your mother? Read the same information off the MIT website that you have memorized at this point?_

The whole reason she had shown up at the game was because she was tired of feeling lonely, so why was she still isolating herself?

“Okay… well…” Kara put on a smile that Lena could tell was not as effortless as the ones she was usually on the receiving end of. “See you Monday?”

Lena nodded and Kara started to walk away before turning back to her and blurting out, “You’re kinda hard to pin down, you know that, right?”

Lena’s brow furrowed in confusion, “What?”

“I just can’t tell if you like me or not.”

“ _Like you_ ,” Lena murmured inaudibly, unsure what direction the conversation was headed until she remembered what Winn had said at the pep rally about Kara wanting _everyone_ to like her. She wasn't special. 

Except that she felt special whenever Kara talked to her, or gave her one of her smiles…  

Kara dipped her head shyly, looking very unlike the girl who had just been galavanting out on the field. “Because I thought that I was making it pretty obvious that I wanted to be friends with you, and...” She shrugged, trying to look unaffected, “I mean, if you just like keeping to yourself that’s cool and I’ll stop bothering you—”  

“I don’t. Like keeping to myself. It’s just…” Her voice trailed off to a whisper, “I’ve never really had a friend before.” And in that moment it became very apparent to her that she had been suppressing how badly she wanted one. So what if she didn’t _need_ a friend to get into MIT? Only viewing people for what they could contribute to one’s own personal gain was certainly _not_ a Luthor trait she wanted to adopt. Before Kara could say anything in response, Lena straightened her shoulders and put on a smile that dripped with the Luthor confidence she had long practiced to fake till she felt, “But I think you and I would make great friends Kara Danvers.” 


	2. part 2: sleepover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena wasn’t sure if she was supposed to stay in bed with Kara. Her friend had not specified if the arrangement was merely for the movie or for the entire night. Should she have brought a sleeping bag? She didn't own a sleeping bag. She could’ve bought a sleeping bag. Kara didn't tell her to bring a sleeping bag. Maybe she had assumed Lena would just know to bring a sleeping bag to a sleepover. 
> 
> She’d never spent this much time thinking about sleeping bags before. 
> 
> Having a friend was complicated—good, but complicated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy friday!! thank you all for your kind response on the first chapter :D i hope you enjoy this continuation of the story, and as always i would love to hear what you thought!

“Checkmate,” Lena declared triumphantly, making her winning move.

Kara groaned, “I really thought I had you this time.”

A smirk played with the corner of her mouth, “You just need to accept now that you’re never going to be able to beat me in chess. I’ve been playing since I was four.”

Over the past three weeks she had been spending almost every evening at Kara’s house. Sometimes Winn joined them if they were planning on bingeing a few episodes of Orphan Black (he and Kara had been appalled to discover she had never seen it and had _immediately_ gotten her started on the series), sometimes Lucy if they had studying to do for the history class they were all in together, but usually it was just the two of them. When Kara said she wanted to be friends, Lena hadn’t known what to expect. She certainly hadn’t expected them spending so much time together. Maybe Kara hadn’t expected it either. Maybe it had just happened.

Lena wasn’t trying to question it.

They had fallen into a routine. Lena would work on homework while Kara had football practice. After practice wrapped up they would drive to the Danvers, sometimes stopping at the store to pick up a few things Eliza had asked for.

She was starting to become familiarized with Kara’s weird car mix of Broadway music and nineties boy bands--sometimes humming along while Kara belted dramatically from the driver's seat. It had taken her a few afternoons before she was ready to relinquish the iron grip she maintained on the door handle for the entire seventeen minute drive from the school because Kara’s driving was… _terrifying_. How she had managed to get a license was beyond Lena’s comprehension. So yeah, riding home from school with Kara was a very different experience than the mostly silent car rides with a professional driver that she had been accustomed to. Not that she was complaining, because she definitely wasn’t.

She couldn’t remember the last time she had sat down at the long table in their imposing dining room for dinner with her mother. Lillian Luthor often worked late hours at the LuthorCorp offices, making sure everything would be ready for when Lex graduated from college and could take his place on the throne. If she had even taken notice of the fact that Lena was suddenly spending less time at home, she hadn’t mentioned anything the few times they had encountered each other in the cavernous house since she had started hanging out with Kara. She hadn’t told her mother about her new friendship, didn’t want to give her something else to ruin.

Eliza was a fantastic cook. Kara said she thought it was her mom’s way of destressing. Even if she spent her day on a bunch of failed experiments, she could always depend on her tried and true recipes to turn out perfect. At first she had attempted to protest crashing the Danvers’ family dinners, but that effort had been futile. They had insisted she fill the empty spot at the table vacated by Alex while she was away at college, and before she knew it she knew which drawer held the spoons and where to find a plate from night after night of helping Kara set the table and wash dishes.  

_“You’re our guest, you don’t have to do this.”_

She didn’t know how to explain to Kara that the normalcy of it all was something she hadn’t even realized she was craving. She didn’t feel like a guest at the Danvers house, at least not in the way she had felt like a guest at the stuffy functions and brunches in monolithic mansions she had attended with her family over the years. It was comfortable, easy, hanging out with Kara.

It was also really easy to beat her at chess.

“Whatever,” Kara sighed, looking at the board in dismay.

“You can’t be amazing at everything. But hey, you _are_ undefeated on the football field right now.”

A fact she knew firsthand, because apparently she was a person who went to the football games now.

Kara rested her head in her hands, “Don’t remind me. There’s so much pressure to keep the streak going since Coach told the entire school this was going to be our undefeated season.”

“The pressure is not all on you though. Last time I checked, football was a team sport.”

“I know.” Kara picked absently at a tiny hole in the sleeve of her sweatshirt. “But I’m the girl, playing the boys’ game. All eyes on me to see if I can keep up.”

Lena rolled her eyes, “The boys should be worried about keeping up with you.”

Kara breathed out a laugh at the remark and looked up at her hopefully, “You should spend the night tomorrow after the game. My dad is still away on his trip for work and my mom’s leaving tomorrow morning for a research symposium in Central City this weekend, so I’ll be all by my lonesome. Please…”

Slumber parties were not a part of Lena’s childhood. The closest thing she had to compare was being at boarding school, which had been lacking in games of truth or dare, excessive sugar, and sleeping bags. For as many hours as she had spent at the Danvers house, something about spending the night made her nervous. What if she broke some unspoken sleepover rule that she didn’t know existed because she didn’t have a normal childhood? What if she brushed her teeth weird? What if she couldn’t fall asleep without her noise machine and just stared at the ceiling all night?

While she was having her inner dialogue with her anxiety, Kara was still looking at her expectantly and she knew she wasn’t going to be able to say no.

“Sure. That’ll be fun.”

Miss Owens would be so proud of her.

* * *

When Lena arrived at the game Friday night, she faced a minor dilemma. Usually, she sat with Eliza and Winn, but Winn had been out sick from school that day with strep throat and Mrs. Danvers was away.

She was lingering awkwardly outside the stadium entrance like a lost puppy, reminding herself that she had sat by herself the first time she attended a game and that it was no big deal, when she spotted Miss Owens and her fiancé arriving. Waving, she made her way over to them.

“Hi. Would it be alright for me to sit with you two? I’m here all by myself tonight…”

Miss Owens smiled, “Of course Lena.”

“I’m going to go get in line for coffee while you two find seats,” Grace said. “You want anything Q?”

“Hot cocoa please.”

“Can I get you anything Lena?” Grace asked.

Lena shook her head, “No thank you.”

While Grace headed off in the direction of the concession stand, and she and Miss Owens went to find them some seats on the crowded bleachers, she inquired, “Q?”

Miss Owens glanced over at her, “For Quinn.”

“Ahh…”

“I originally designed our wedding invitations with a G+Q monogram and the printer said, _‘like the men’s magazine?’_ so we had to do a little switcheroo on that.”

They started climbing up the stairs of the bleachers and Lena asked, “When’s the wedding?”

“June. Right after school lets out.”

“That’s exciting.”

“Yeah. Still a million things to do though. I don’t know why I decided to DIY basically everything. Our dining room has been overtaken by crafting supplies. Poor Grace gets home from work and I just hand her a glue gun. We’ve been re-watching New Girl while we make centerpieces, channeling our inner Jessica Day. Well, I’m like Jess. Grace is probably more like Schmidt.” Miss Owens glanced over at her and added hastily, “I mean that in the best way possible.”

Lena had no idea what she was talking about. She made a mental note to add New Girl to her Netflix que. She wondered if Kara had seen it... maybe they could watch it when they were done with Orphan Black.

They found seats in the bleachers that were already starting to fill with an excited crowd. The game was against one of the top ranking teams in the state and was anticipated to be a close and competitive one.

When Grace found them, coffee and hot cocoa in hand, Lucy and her squad had formed two lines at the end of the field to make a tunnel of waving pom poms for the team to run through any moment.

The guys started to run out as the cheers of the crowd grew to a loud roar rivaled by the sound of the marching band playing the fight song. Their procession was closed out by Kara, her blond waves tied back into two braids that were peeking out from underneath her helmet, and the corners of Lena’s mouth turned up into a smile. While she still wasn’t totally sold on the merits of high school football, she had to admit that she enjoyed watching Kara in her element. In her shoulder pads and eye-black, she carried herself with a confidence that dared people to try and challenge her place in the game.

Following the starting kick-off, Kara and the boys earned themselves a comfortable lead to go into the second half, and they didn’t slow down in the third quarter as they continued to run play after successful play. The frustration of their opponents was growing palpable though. With a few minutes left in the quarter, one of their defensive tackles slipped past James to get a hit on Kara and she went down. Hard.

_“So James is our left tackle.” Lena was only half listening to Kara’s explanation of the different roles her teammates played while they walked through the aisles of the grocery store grabbing the items on Eliza’s list. “His job is to protect me while I’m trying to make a pass. Make sure I don’t get hit from behind.”_

_“Mhmmm.” Lena murmured, scanning the boxes of pasta._

_“He’s a good player.” Kara reached around her to grab the box of spaghetti they were looking for. “Which my mom is thankful for. She’s totally supportive, but she still gets nervous watching me play.”_

Lena’s heart leapt into her throat the sight of Kara’s body, limp on the ground. She had seen her friend get tackled before—she hated it as much as Mrs. Danvers did—but Kara was usually back up on her feet a lot faster.

The athletic trainer, Coach J, James, and some other players Lena didn’t know by name, rushed to her side while an eerie quiet passed over the stadium. The athletic trainer pushed the guys out of the way as she hovered over Kara, speaking to her inaudibly. Beside Lena, Miss Owens was clutching her fiance’s arm tightly and muttering, “C’mon Kara. Get up.”

A few seconds passed that felt like an eternity, before Kara was easing herself into a seated position with the help of the athletic trainer and Lena exhaled in relief.

It looked like Kara was saying to her teammates, _“I’m okay, I’m fine,”_ but she was clutching her shoulder and the grimace she was struggling to hold back seemed to contradict her words.  

When she got to the bench, the athletic trainer wrapped a bag of ice in place around her shoulder and the game resumed with the backup quarterback taking Kara’s place.

Kara put up with sitting on the sidelines for a few intercepted passes by her less competent replacement before Lena watched her stand up to go talk to Coach J. Lots of emphatic hand waving later, she apparently managed to convince her coach to put her back in to finish out the rest of the final quarter.

As if nothing mildly traumatic had even happened, Kara finished off the game with a few flawless passes to earn the team one more touchdown to seal their decisive victory.

After saying goodbye to Quinn and Grace, she lingered around waiting for Kara to finish up in the locker room. A few of the cheerleaders waved to her on their way out to their cars, catching her by surprise. Since she had been eating lunch with Kara, that also meant sharing a table with an assortment of cheerleaders and football players (and Winn) she never would have hung out with otherwise. She hadn’t thought any of them had noticed her presence though—she mostly stayed at the edges of the conversations, just listening. She usually didn’t care enough about whatever they were talking about to want to contribute anyway. It was just nice knowing she had somewhere to sit, somewhere her last name didn't matter, somewhere she was welcome, wanted—by Kara, at least. And Winn, and Lucy. And maybe some of the others too.

She waved back at them, smiled.

“You coming to the party?” One of them called.

Party? 

_How many people had Kara invited over?_

If she was anxious about spending the night at Kara’s, adding the cheer squad into the mix did nothing to calm her nerves.

Apparently it was a rhetorical question, because by the time she had processed it the girls had already moved on to swarming some of the players as they emerged from the locker room. From the snippets of conversations she overheard, it turned out that the aforementioned “party” was not actually her sleepover with Kara, but one being hosted at one of the players houses.

Kara wandered out into the parking lot a few minutes later, looking around at the crowd of people gathered and saying thanks in response to their offered congratulations. When she spotted Lena, she made a beeline for her.

“Sorry that took so long. They wanted to have me looked at one more time before they sent me home. And then they wanted me to call my mom and explain to her what happened since she’s my emergency contact, even though I told them it was better if she just didn’t know. Anyway, sorry again for making you wait.”

“It’s okay. How are you feeling? How’s your shoulder?”  

Kara waved a hand dismissively, “It’s fine. The whole thing really wasn’t as bad as it looked. Just knocked the wind out of me a little bit when I hit the ground. I needed a second to catch my breath.”

Lena was amazed that Kara could so easily dismiss the severity of the tackle that watching happen had nearly given her a heart attack.

Lena frowned, “Okay…”

“I promise Lena, I’m fine. The pads do their job.” Kara started to walk towards her car, “But it is a good excuse for not making an appearance at Mike’s.” Lena waited for Kara to elaborate on that, but she didn't, instead adding, “I am _starving._ Let’s hit the Big Belly drive-through on our way home. I could eat my bodyweight in french fries right now…”

* * *

Lena loved Kara’s room. Loved all the little details she had learned about her friend from the knick knacks and pictures and patterned pillows. Lena’s room was stark and orderly—it had been decorated by the interior designer who had been hired for the entire house, and felt like it could belong to anybody. But Kara’s room was unmistakably hers.

On top of her dresser there were three framed photos. The first was of Kara and Alex with their cat Streaky when he was just a kitten—a tiny ball of fluff. The second was one from the past summer of her with her cousin Clark at his family’s farm, in the bed of the truck they had fixed up, grease smeared on both of their freckled foreheads. The third was of her sitting in front of a large chocolate-frosted cake with seven lit candles on it, surrounded on either side by her birth parents.

When Kara had invited her up into her room for the first time after they started hanging out, she had caught her looking at the picture and it had prompted a conversation about their families.

_“I wish I remembered them better.”_

_Lena looked over her shoulder at Kara, “How old were you when they…”_

_“I was nine—almost ten.” Kara sighed. “I can’t remember their voices anymore. I mean, I remember that my mom could sing, I remember singing with her in the car, but I can’t hear it anymore. I can’t hear my dad’s laugh. I don’t know when I started to forget… it’s like one day I just woke up and pieces of them were gone.”_

_Lena set the photo down and turned to face her friend, unsure of what to say but wanting to somehow convey that she understood._

_“Do you remember?” Kara asked before she could respond. “Anything about your parents…”_

_Lena took a deep breath. It was a question that would require her to put words to things she had long kept buried inside._

_“My dad was never in the picture. It was just me and my mom. Sometimes I wonder if I’m anything like her…”_ Or if everything I am is because of the family who raised me, _she added silently. Her chest felt tight as she was assaulted with a memory she often wished she could forget. “I lost her voice a long time ago. I don’t—I don’t remember much about her.” Except for her death. She wasn’t ready to talk about that yet—not all the details, not her guilt. “I was four when she died. I think that mostly I just miss this idea I have in my head of her, of what my life would be like if I had gotten to be raised by her, more than an actual memory of her.”_

_In response, Kara hugged her. Kara hugged her and she realized she couldn’t remember the last time someone had. Warmth was something that her familial relationships definitely lacked. Kara smelled like lemons and soap and her arms felt strong and secure around her. If she just never let go, Lena was pretty sure she would be okay with it. Kara did let go though, and when she did, Lena saw that she was crying._

_Kara brushed her tears away with the sleeve of her sweatshirt. “Sorry. I just—not everyone understands, you know?”_

_Lena nodded._

_“And like, one of the hardest things is the guilt over how much I love Eliza and Jeremiah and Alex. Especially Alex. Sure we’ve had some rough patches over the years, the usual sibling stuff, but I love having a big sister. And I wouldn’t have one if my parents were still alive. So then I think about if I had to choose between my two families, and it feels like a betrayal to my birth parents to even be conflicted.”_

_“Kara… you can’t do that to yourself. It’s an impossible choice, but it’s one you’re never going to have to make. Your parents would be happy to know that you have a family who loves you and takes good care of you, and that you’re happy.”_

_She didn't know where that had come from. Maybe all the time she was spending in the guidance counselor’s office was improving her emotional intelligence by osmosis._

_Kara smiled weakly, “Yeah?”_

_“Yeah.”_

Kara tossed her blazer on her bed and slipped out of her oxfords to reveal the pizza printed socks she was wearing underneath. Kara had mentioned before that when she first started on the team her freshman year, she copied what the guys were wearing on game days because she didn’t want to stand out any more than she already did, didn’t want to be the girl in the dress. But then she had figured out that she actually preferred the button downs and khakis and blazers anyway, and her dresses got pushed to the back of the closet before eventually ending up in a donation box. _“I’m not dressing like the boys, I’m dressing like me.”_

Kara proceeded to untuck her pinstriped dress shirt and started to unbutton it, revealing a solid black sports bra and defined abs that still held onto some of her golden summer tan.

Lena found herself staring. For some reason her mouth felt suddenly dry. Maybe she was jealous. Kara could eat any of the guys on her team under the table and still looked like _that._ But she knew what jealousy felt like, and this was… something else. The same something that sometimes made her heart beat a little too fast or her skin feel a little too hot when she was with Kara. The something that she kept putting back inside the tiny box inside her mind over and over again, whenever it showed itself.

Shirt hanging open but still draped over her shoulders, Kara looked up at her, “You can use the bathroom first if you want. To brush your teeth and stuff.”

“What?” Lena shook her head to clear it. “Yeah. Okay. Thanks.”

She grabbed her pajamas and her toiletry case from her bag and retreated to the hallway.

In the bathroom, she changed into her pajamas. She had found the sleep set in a boutique in Italy over the summer—loved the silky soft, floral-printed fabric. Pulling her hair back into a ponytail, she washed off her make-up and brushed her teeth.

When she stepped out of the bathroom, Kara was waiting in the hallway and laughed, “Of course that’s what you wear to sleep.”

Suddenly self conscious, Lena’s clasped her hands in front of her, “What’s wrong with my pajamas?”

“Nothing.” Kara assured. She ran a hand down the fabric of her sleeve and Lena inhaled sharply—hoping it hadn’t been a noticeable reaction. Kara was an affectionate friend, and for someone who could probably be clinically diagnosed as “touch-starved,” Lena was still getting used to the effect it had on her. “They’re just so… you.”

“Oh.”

“You’re just always very put together. Even in sleep apparently,” Kara observed with a smile. “I’ve never seen you just wear like… jeans and a t-shirt.”

She nibbled at her bottom lip, “Is that a bad thing?”

“No. I love the way you dress. You always look good.”

Lena could feel her cheeks starting to turn pink, “Thanks.”

Kara gestured to herself, to the oversized, well-worn tie-dye t-shirt and gray sweatpants she was wearing, “And then there’s me, the pinnacle of sleep fashion.”

Lena laughed, “You look comfortable.”

“And that’s what matters most. Especially when I’ve just been tossed around by a defensive tackle twice my size.” She pulled the stretched out collar of her shirt down over her shoulder to reveal a blossoming purple bruise, “I guess it’s a good thing it’s starting to get too cold for tank tops.”

Lena winced, “Ouch.”

Despite all of Kara’s assurances that she was _“fine,”_ there was no way that a bruise like that didn’t hurt.

Kara shrugged, “Eh. AT Jenn will probably yell at me for not icing it more, but I’ve had worse. I’m just glad they don’t try to be dainty with me anymore. It’s insulting.”

Once Kara had taken her turn in the bathroom, she returned to her room where Lena was checking her grade from the Latin exam she had taken at the beginning of the week. She had aced it, which was good. It meant her mom wouldn’t have anything to say to her for a few days at least.

Kara crawled into her bed and grabbed the tv remote, “You want to watch a movie?” She patted the spot on the mattress next to her in invitation. “I can’t promise I’ll make it through the whole thing without falling asleep, but I’ll give it my best shot…”

They ended up picking Legally Blonde and, true to her prediction, Kara was snoring softly beside her before Elle even made it to Harvard.

Lena wasn’t sure if she was supposed to stay in bed with Kara. Her friend had not specified if the arrangement was merely for the movie or for the entire night. Should she have brought a sleeping bag? She didn't own a sleeping bag. She could’ve bought a sleeping bag. Kara didn't tell her to bring a sleeping bag. Maybe she had assumed Lena would just know to bring a sleeping bag to a sleepover.

She’d never spent this much time thinking about sleeping bags before.

Having a friend was complicated—good, but complicated.

* * *

Lena’s first surprise upon opening her eyes the next morning was that she had fallen asleep at all.

The second surprise was that there was an arm draped over her.  

At some point in the night Kara had ended up on her side of the bed-- _correction_ , Kara had ended up sprawling out to take up basically the entire bed and most of the covers.

For having been nudged to the edge of the mattress—her feet a little cold from the quilt being all but completely pulled off of her, she couldn’t exactly say that she was as grumpy as one would think she would be from waking up in such a position.

Her friend was still soundly asleep, her face pressed into her pillow with her hair spread around her like a halo, a few strands floating up as she breathed out puffs of air.

Lena glanced over at the clock, and there came her third surprise. It was 8:30. She couldn’t remember the last time she had slept so late. Normally she didn’t even need an alarm to wake up for school. She had three back-ups just in case of course, but she was usually up long before any of them went off. Her mind just didn’t know how to rest. She must have been more tired than she realized.

Kara mumbled something incoherent into the pillow before lifting her head, blinking in confusion at her, “Oh!” She extracted her arm, rolling away to give Lena some space that she wasn’t sure she wanted. “Oh I am so sorry. Alex tells me that I’m the _worst_ person to share a bed with—she always hated sharing a hotel bed with me on family vacations. I should’ve warned you.”

“You definitely could’ve at least given me a heads up that you’re a covers hog,” Lena teased, relieved that Kara’s reaction hadn’t been, _‘Why did you sleep in my bed weirdo?’_ Wiggling her bare toes she added, “I would’ve worn socks.”

“Sorry, sorry, sorry,” Kara continued to mumble, brushing her hair out of her face. “I hope you still slept okay?”

“I slept great,” Lena assured her. “You have a… comfortable mattress.”

She had an $8,000 luxury Swedish mattress at home. It was doubtful the mattress was a factor in her improved sleep quality. But it felt like the best answer—at least one she knew how to vocalize with opening the box.

Kara pushed herself up into a seated position and her yawn turned into a thinly veiled wince from her injury as she stretched her arms up overhead. “I would offer to make us some breakfast, but I’m on probation from using the kitchen without parental supervision because of an incident that may or may not have involved me setting the oven on fire.”

“Wha—How?”

Kara shrugged helplessly, “Cooking is hard. We can go to Noonan’s. You like Noonan’s, right?”

“I’ve never been there before.”

“What?! How have you lived without having a Noonan’s cinnamon roll?” Kara rolled out of the bed, “C’mon. We’re getting dressed and going to get you the best breakfast in existence.”

* * *

“Miss Danvers, great game last night honey,” the waitress greeted them when she arrived at their table, patting Kara’s shoulder gently. “You’re one tough cookie. Giving all those boys a run for their money.”

Kara beamed, “Thank you Rosie.”

“Who’s your friend?”

“This is Lena. Can you believe she’s lived in National City for years and she’s never had a cinnamon roll from here?”

Rosie pressed her notepad to her chest, “Well we have to rectify that, don’t we? You haven’t lived until you’ve had a Noonan’s cinnamon roll.”

Lena had spent a few weeks of her summer eating freshly baked pastries in France and she wasn't sure the cinnamon rolls were quite going to live up to the hype they’d been given.

But she shouldn’t have doubted Kara.

“You’re going to eat it with a knife and fork?” Kara asked incredulously, a torn off piece of her cinnamon roll halfway to her mouth. “Do you have to make me look like a cavewoman?”

Lena laughed and continued to cut herself a piece of soft, flaky dough. “You’re not a cavewoman. You just had the luxury of not having to learn how to draw the least amount of attention to yourself while eating to avoid being an _‘embarrassment in front of our distinguished guests—’_ she imitated her mother’s voice, “—and getting a kick in the shins under the dinner table.”

Kara didn’t respond and Lena looked up to see her frowning at her, “Is it really like that at your—“

She waved her fork in a dismissive gesture to cut her off, “I’m being dramatic. Do you want me to eat this with my hands?”

“It’s the only way to properly experience it.”

“But then my hands will be all sticky...”

Kara rolled her eyes, “Oh my god Lena.”

“I just—“

Before Lena knew what was happening, Kara fed her a piece of cinnamon roll and her eyes widened as the sugary sweetness started to melt on her tongue.

“Wow. That is good,” she remarked after swallowing. It wasn’t a croissant from the bakery she had frequented during her time in France, but it didn't need to be. It was like comparing apples and oranges. Two perfect breakfast confections.

Kara was licking frosting off her fingers—the fingers that had just touched her lips—an observation that made Lena feel warm, and she narrowed her eyes, “Good? Just good?”

“Delicious,” Lena amended and Kara grinned triumphantly before diving into the rest of her cinnamon roll.

“So do you have plans for Homecoming?” Kara asked, leaning across their table when they had finished eating. “Because Winn and I always go together—just as friends of course, and I don’t want to break tradition with him, but you should totally come with us. It’ll be so fun.”

“Well…” Lena traced a pattern with her fork in the cinnamon sugar residue left on her plate, avoiding Kara’s eyes. “I actually have a date for the dance.”

Kara was silent for a beat before, “You do? Who?”

“Jack Spheer. He sits next to me in that advanced programming class I’m taking, and he asked me, and I said yes. So…”

The _‘ask’_ had happened almost a week ago. She wasn’t sure why she hadn’t mentioned it to Kara until now.

“Oh. I didn’t know you were—I mean that’s… good. Good for you.” Lena wasn’t sure if she was imagining the forced chipperness in Kara’s voice or not. She hadn’t meant to disappoint her. She had assumed Kara would have a date too. _Who wouldn’t want to take her to homecoming?_ “Well, save at least one dance for me, okay?”

She nodded, “Of course.”


	3. part 3: homecoming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> to quote twitter user @JuliaGastwirth : posting a sc story for 1 specific person to see is the modern day equivalent of gatsby hosting elaborate parties in hopes that daisy attends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi friends!! thanks again for all the love on the last chapter :D i've been very busy wrapping up my last semester of college so i haven't had time to reply to comments but know that i read and appreciate them all <3 enjoy the next installment!!

Lena stood in the dressing room, considering herself in the mirror. A row of potential dresses hung on the rack, all awaiting their turn to be tried on and deliberated over in hopes of being the one chosen. The one she had put on first was a rich raspberry color with off-the-shoulder long sleeves and a hemline that fell just above her knees, with a slit that teased just a hint of thigh. Homecoming was only a few days away and she had procrastinated horribly on finding a dress. Luckily, one of the upscale designer boutiques downtown—the kind that had security guards out front and gave you champagne, or in their case sparkling cider, while you shopped—still had a good selection in stock.

“Well? Are you going to let me see?”

Giving herself one last glance, she stepped out from behind the curtain to where Kara was waiting—sitting cross legged on the couch with her chin resting in her hands. She looked a little out of place in her ripped jeans, black hoodie, and Nike’s—Lena probably could’ve prepared her a little better for what kind of store they were going to—but aside from getting a look from one of the security guards out front, being with a Luthor meant no one was going to question her presence.

Kara’s eyes widened when Lena moved into her view, her lips parting ever so slightly.

“That’s the one,” Kara remarked after a beat of heavy silence.

Lena crossed her arms over her chest, curling in on herself. She was uncomfortable with how much she liked the way Kara was looking at her, a little confused as to what exactly that look on her friend’s face meant.

“I still have like six more to try on,” Lena pointed out.

Kara waved a hand dismissively, “You can try them on, but you’re going to pick this one. I just know it.”

“I don’t know…” She glanced over her shoulder at the mirror behind her. “Don’t I look a little like a  girl playing dress up in her mom’s closet?”

“What?” Kara hopped up from the couch. “No you don’t.” She stepped up onto the little platform with Lena, putting her hands on her hips and turning her to fully face the mirror. Her fingers flexed, her hands lingering for a moment before pulling away. “You look so pretty. And…” Kara pulled a hair tie off of her own wrist and started to run her fingers through Lena’s hair, smoothing out tangles and pulling it back into a messy bun. It felt heavenly.  

_Breathe in. Breathe out._

_Little boxes._

“So obviously you can get it done nicer than this, but…” Kara’s voice brought Lena back to Earth. Her warm breath ghosted over Lena’s exposed shoulders, her neck. “I think hair up is the way to go. With this dress.” Kara took a little step back, her gaze dropping to her toes. “Jack won’t be able to keep his eyes off of you.”

_Jack who?_

It took Lena a couple of seconds to remember that she had a date for the dance whose name was Jack.

“Okay.” She smoothed her hands down the fabric. “Okay. Yeah. I think I do like this one.”

Kara pasted on a smile and met her gaze in the mirror, “Told ya.”

* * *

“You and your girlfriend are so cute. I hope you have fun at your dance.”

“Thanks,” Lena muttered in response, signing the receipt.

_Wait. What?_

“Oh no. She’s not my girlfriend,” she hastily amended, looking up. “We’re not going to homecoming together. I have a date. With a boy. Obviously.”

_Did that make her sound homophobic?_

“I mean, not that there’s anything wrong with being gay. My guidance counselor is a lesbian, and she’s one of my favorite people in the world. I love lesbians—” Lena started to feel an out of control ramble coming on and she pulled herself together. “Anyway, thanks for your help.”.

The sales girl looked at her like she had grown an extra head before responding, “You’re welcome.” She handed over the bag containing her tissue paper wrapped dress. “Have fun with your boy date.”

She was relieved Kara had gotten distracted by her phone and was still sitting over in the changing area, oblivious to the whole mess of an interaction that had just transpired.

“You ready to go?” Kara asked when Lena returned to her. “My mom says she’s making Italian…”

Lena bit her lip. Originally she had planned on having dinner at the Danvers, but she didn’t think that spending any more time with Kara was a good idea at the moment.

“Actually, I think I’m just going to go home. I have some studying to do.”  

Kara’s face crinkled in understandable confusion. “Well… I mean, we could study together? Like we usually do...”

_“What are the seven hormones secreted by the anterior pituitary gland?”_

_Kara screwed up her face in concentration, the blood rushing to her head as she hung off the edge of her bed. She claimed it helped her think. Her t-shirt got pulled down by gravity and Lena watched as her exposed abs flexed to pull her back up into a seated position._

_“Follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, adrenocorticotropic hormone, thyroid -stimulating hormone, prolactin, melanocyte-stimulating hormone, and growth hormone.” Kara glanced over her shoulder at her, curled up in the chair next to the bed. “Am I right?”_

_Lena skimmed over the card to double check her own memory before answering, “Yep.”_

_“Oh good.” Kara reached for the stack of Lena’s chemistry flashcards. “Your turn… ‘The numerical value of the equilibrium constant depends on…?’”_

_“The reaction temperature.”_

_Kara flipped the card, “Correct. Can we be done studying now? We’re both going to ace our tests.”_

_“I don’t know… I still don’t feel so good about—”_

_“Lena.” Kara hopped off her bed and perched on the arm of the chair, resting a hand on her shoulder. “We’ve been through your deck of flashcards three times and you haven’t missed a single answer. You should feel good about this test.”_

_Lena’s most recent conversation with her mother had been less of a conversation and more of a monologue about everything Lex was accomplishing in college and how she hoped that Lena would somehow be able to measure up even though she was currently squandering her potential in the public education system._

_“Okay. I guess I can always go through them again tomorrow morning on the ride to school…”_

_Kara shook her head, “Whatever nerd. But for now, we’re doing something fun.”_

Lena squeezed her hands into fists at her side, feeling her nails dig into her palms, and bit out, “We’ve been practically attached at the hip for weeks, maybe I just need a break.”

She didn’t know what she was doing, why she was being cruel. Hurt flashed in Kara’s eyes and Lena felt like she was going to throw up.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize…” Kara wasn’t looking at her anymore, but at her hands that were clasped tightly in front of her. “I’ll just get an Uber home. And I guess I’ll see you at school tomorrow. If you want.”

She turned to go and Lena felt paralyzed as she watched her walk away.

Had it been inevitable that she would eventually ruin the only friendship she had ever known?

* * *

Lena tapped her toes nervously as she waited outside the door to the women’s locker room.  She checked the time again. Kara would be emerging any moment and she would be ready with the words she had carefully crafted while she had stared at her ceiling sleeplessly the night before. Carefully crafted words and a warm cinnamon roll.

Just a few short weeks ago she had been dead set on the notion that she didn’t need a friend, but now that she had experienced what it was like to have one, she didn’t know how she could just go back to the way things were before. She knew that you didn’t give up on a calculus problem if you didn’t work out the right answer on the first try. There was always a way to fix things if you took a few steps back. Friendship, she was learning, was a million times more complicated than calculus, but she had to at least try to make things right.

The door swung open and Lena startled, her carefully crafted words flying out of her head when she came face to face with her friend.

_Hopefully still her friend._

“Lena?” Kara inquired tentatively, gripping tightly on her backpack straps. Her face was guarded. Lena missed the smile she was usually greeted with.

“I’m sorry,” Lena blurted out, holding out the paper bag from Noonan’s in front of her. “You’re my favorite person in the whole world. And I really like hanging out with you. I don’t know what was wrong with me yesterday. Why I said those things.”

Kara blinked in surprise. “Oh.”

“Please forgive me.”

Kara took the paper bag from her, her olive branch, and a smile spread across her face, “Of course. And not just because you brought me a cinnamon roll, although I appreciate that because I’m starving.” She reached into the bag, tearing off a piece and popping it into her mouth.

“So we’re good?”

Kara swallowed and nodded, “We’re good. Are you sure you’re okay though? Did something happen yesterday while we were shopping?”

Lena almost told her what had happened with the sales girl. Just to see how she would react. She wasn’t sure how she wanted her to.

“Hey ladies,” Lucy sidled up to them before Lena could say anything. “Just reminding you to vote for James and I for King and Queen this afternoon.”

“Oh that’s this afternoon?” Kara asked, her voice teasing. “It’s a good thing you said something since I have no idea how I would’ve remembered. It’s not like you’ve been reminding us every single day for the past two weeks.” Lucy glared at her and Kara grinned, “You’ve got my vote Luce.”

“Thank you.” Lucy squeezed Kara’s bicep before bouncing off down the hallway to continue her campaign.

Kara seemed to forget that they had been in the middle of a conversation before Lucy walked up and Lena figured that was probably for the best.

* * *

Friday night’s homecoming football game was marked by a victory that kept the winning streak alive and earned National City High a spot in state championship play. It was by far the coldest game of the year and by the end, despite being huddled under a quilt with Winn, Lena’s butt had practically frozen to the icy metal bleachers.

_“Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes. Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear. Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes. How do you measure, measure a year?_

Lena shook her head in amusement at Kara and Winn’s singing as Kara drove them to the Danvers for post-game pizza. While they had been waiting for Kara to finish up in the locker room, Lena had gotten the explanation out of Winn that she hadn’t from Kara about why they were avoiding another one of Mike’s victory parties.

_“Mike was supposed to be the quarterback until Coach J decided to place his bets on Kara instead. He’s mostly over it now since he’s playing first string wide reciever, except when he’s drunk, and then he’s a major jerk to her. The last time Kara and I went to one of his parties, she clocked him in the face and we haven’t made an appearance since. Plus his family is like super rich so—”_

_The way he said ‘super rich’ made Lena instantly defensive._

_“I’m super rich.”_

_Winn shook his head, “Yeah but you’re like… classy rich. He’s obnoxious about it. Like ‘let’s totally trash the house because my maids will just clean it up before mommy and daddy even get home from their business trip,’ rich.”_

_“Ew.”_

_“Yeah. No one really likes him, they just put up with him because he has an indoor pool.”_

_“I would have like to see Kara punch him...”_

_Winn pulled out his phone, “Oh, you think I don’t have that on video?”_

“You have to do the spring musical with me this year Kara,” Winn insisted when their song ended. “The rumor going around is that we’re doing Guys and Dolls.” 

Kara turned down the music as the intro to _The Schuyler Sisters_ started to play from her Broadway playlist and glanced at him in the rearview mirror, “Oh I don’t know… It’s very cliche for the quarterback to be in the musical.”

“Okay well, usually the quarterback is a guy with mediocre talent, so you’d be subverting the trope,” Lena pointed out. “I agree with Winn. You should go out for it. Your voice is incredible.”

“It’s not fair.” Kara pouted. “You two ganging up on me.”

“You’re always bored during the offseason,” Winn pressed. “C’mon. It’ll be fun. You would make a great Sara Brown.”

“Isn’t she the love interest?” Lena glanced over and saw Kara wrinkling her nose in distaste. “I don’t want to have to kiss some random guy.”

Winn leaned forward in between the driver and passenger seats, “Hey. I’m going out for Sky Masterson, and I’m not some random guy.”

They were stopped at a red light and Kara turned to raise an eyebrow at him, “Is this an elaborate scheme to get me to kiss you because you’re still mad about the spin the bottle incident in eighth grade?”

“That bottle was pointing at me, not Lucy.”

Lena’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline and she kept her eyes on the traffic light in front of them as Kara and Winn continued to argue over what actually happened at Lucy Lane’s 14th birthday party.

“Whatever, it doesn’t matter,” Winn concluded after the light turned green again and they agreed to disagree. “You know I don’t even have a crush on you anymore.”

Kara laughed, “No. You have a crush on James, so Lucy is still screwing you over.”

“I do not have a crush on James,” Winn protested, but the way he retreated into the back seat as the tips of his ears turned visibly pink, even in the dim car lighting, told a different story.

“I’ll consider doing the musical,” Kara conceded. “I still have time to decide. Auditions aren’t for a few more months.” She turned their music back up and the two of them launched into Summer Nights as they continued to Kara’s house.

_So we’re not going to elaborate on the fact that Kara and Lucy have apparently kissed?_

_Okay. That’s fine. Whatever. Doesn’t matter to me._

_Why would it?_

* * *

**JACK SPHEER: still good for me to pick you up at 5?**

Lena typed back an affirmative reply and looked up at the mirror to watch the stylist pinning her hair up into an elaborate updo. She had spent the morning at the spa getting a manicure and pedicure before ending up at the hair salon. Kara had invited her to stay the night and get ready with her, but they had two very different ideas of what “getting ready” entailed. Also Lena didn’t want Jack to have to pick her up for their dinner reservation from Kara’s house and have things be awkward. She wasn’t sure why she thought it would be an awkward situation, but something about just thinking about it felt awkward.

When her hair was finished, she thanked and tipped the stylist before heading out to where her driver was waiting for her at the curb.

“Where to next Miss Luthor?”

“Back to the house.”

When they pulled up to the Luthor Manor, Lena frowned at the sight of her mother arriving simultaneously. Lillian had been away all week for a business trip and Lena had hoped she wouldn’t be back before she left for the dance.

Stepping out of the car, Lena strode towards the front door with her gaze set on her phone, pretending to be preoccupied.

“Lena.” When she was ignored, her mother repeated herself with more of an edge to her voice, _“Lena.”_

Reluctantly, she looked up at her mother, “Yes?”

Lillian had her arms crossed over her chest, “I don’t get a hello? A welcome home?”

“Hello. Welcome home,” Lena parroted as she brushed past her to enter through the opened doorway.  

“What are your plans for the evening?” her mother asked, following after her.

“It’s homecoming. I’m going to the dance.”

“With Miss Danvers?”

Lena paused, surprised, and turned around to face her, “What?”

Lillian raised an eyebrow, “You really think I don’t pay attention to what you’re up to?”

_You don’t act like it._

Lena didn’t say anything and Lillian continued, “You have to be careful about who you associate with Lena. You’re soft-hearted, people will try to exploit you. Exploit our family.” Only Lillian Luthor could make “soft-hearted” sound like the worst possible quality in a person. “This is why I didn’t want you to go to that public school, those people aren’t like us. She’s not like us.”

“Yeah. She’s not. That’s why I like her,” Lena muttered. The thought of Kara trying to exploit her family was laughable, if anything she was using Kara to escape her family. She had thought her friendship with Kara was the one part of her life that was outside of her mother’s clutches, but apparently not.  

“I just don’t want you to lose sight of what’s important Lena. Don’t waste your time with people who are beneath you,” Lillian turned on her heel dramatically—eliciting an eye roll from her daughter, and retreated down the hallway to her wing of the house.  

“I’m not even going to the dance with Kara,” Lena whispered when she was out of earshot.

Upstairs in her room, she noted the time and saw that she had a little over an hour to finish getting ready. Sitting down at her vanity, she started to sift through her make-up, mentally planning out the look she was going for. Strong brows, simple on the eyes and—she assessed her lipstick collection and found a shade that perfectly matched the color of her dress—raspberry red lips.

Once her makeup was finished, she slipped out of the button-down and jeans she had worn to the salon, being careful not to mess with her hair, and stepped into her dress. She was glad the zipper was up the side because she wasn’t sure how she would’ve managed one in the back and, if it wasn’t apparent, she didn’t exactly have a _‘mom can you help me zip my dress?’_ relationship with her mother. Slipping into her heels, she gave herself a once over in the mirror. It was the first time she had put the dress on since she had bought it and looking at her reflection brought back visceral memories of Kara’s hands on her hips, in her hair.

_“You and your girlfriend are so cute.”_

Lena closed her eyes, shutting out the image of Kara over her shoulder—biting her lip as she focused on pulling back her hair. They were just good friends. Best friends. That was how best friends acted with each other… at least according to all the movies Lena had seen.

Usually she thought that the best friends seemed to have a better love story than the romance that was supposed to matter.

It was 4:53 when she walked back downstairs to the foyer, so she pulled her phone out of her clutch and started watching Instagram stories while she waited for Jack to arrive. When she got to Kara’s there was a clip of her posing in front of the floor length mirror in her room. She was wearing a black three piece suit and had straightened her hair, which somehow made her look older. She looked good. Really good. The caption was something generic about getting ready for homecoming and there was music playing faintly in the background. Lena caught the lyric, _“I’m just curious, is it serious?”_ before it was switching to a selfie of Kara and Winn. She tapped the screen to go back, watching the clip again. The way Kara tilted her head ever so slightly and slid her free hand into her pants pocket, pushing her blazer aside all casual and cool. Her little smirk. Even with her glasses on, it was quarterback Kara, ultra confident—a little cocky, but she could pull it off without seeming like a tool—Kara.

_“I'm just curious, is it serious?”_

Lena was about to go for a third replay when her phone buzzed with a text from Jack and she startled, dropping her phone onto the floor. Crouching down to pick it back up and confirming with relief that she hadn’t shattered the screen, she closed out of Instagram and opened up her messages to let him know that she would be right out.

* * *

On paper Lena supposed that Jack was the perfect date. He bought her a corsage that matched her dress, told her she looked pretty, opened doors for her, pulled out her chair at dinner—at the Thai restaurant she had mentioned was one of her favorites. She just… wasn’t feeling it.

At dinner, they attempted to make small talk, but Lena was struggling to keep her mind from wandering. Wondering what Kara and Winn were doing for dinner, what _she_ would’ve been doing if she had gone with them instead.

She gripped her fork tightly to snap herself out of it. It wasn’t fair to Jack. She had said yes to going with him, he wasn’t forcing her to be there. And she did enjoy working with him on their class project. She led the topic of conversation in that direction and things started to feel less awkward—more like they were in class and less like a date.

After dinner they made their way to the school, where a flood of people were arriving and even more were already inside. Lena looked subconsciously for Kara but didn’t spot her as they were shuffled into the gym that had been transformed with hundreds of fairy lights and balloons.

“Wow. They actually did a pretty good job making this look less gym-like,” she observed.

“Thank you.” Lucy appeared in front of them, having overheard her. She looked a little frazzled, but still beautiful in a dark purple dress with a deep v-neck. Lena found herself fixated on her mouth, painted with a soft pink lipstick, thinking about the spin the bottle story from the night before. “I never want to blow up another balloon again. We stayed here for _hours_ after the game last night and it took some serious work to cover up the dark circles. Have you seen James? I had to deal with a last minute decorating crisis and I lost him.”  

Lena shook her head, “Sorry. Haven’t seen him.”

Lucy pouted, her eyes darting around. “Well, he’s tall, he can’t disappear for long.” She looked back at Lena, “You look amazing by the way.”

“Thanks,” Lena smiled at her. She started to respond with, _“You look amazing too,”_ but Lucy had already hurried off to continue her search for her boyfriend.

Jack took her hand and Lena tried to convince herself that it felt nice as they continued to walk across the gym. She spotted her guidance counselor standing along the edges of the crowd that had started to form on the dance floor and tugged Jack in that direction so that she could say hello.  

Miss Owens was wearing a dress made from layers of floaty navy blue fabric embroidered with shimmering gold constellations. Her red hair was braided in a crown around her head and she had mismatched star and moon earrings on. Grace stood next to her in a matching navy blue suit with a crisp white shirt underneath.

“Lena! Oh you look so beautiful,” Miss Owens gushed over the noise of the music and Lena dropped Jack’s hand as she was pulled in for a hug. “I’m so glad you came. I wasn’t sure if this was your thing or not…”

“You were the one who told me I needed to try and make some memories unrelated to academics this year,” Lena pointed out when she pulled back.

Miss Owens gave her a look, “We both know you were not originally planning on taking that advice.”

“True,” Lena conceded. _But then Kara happened._ “But it was good advice. I didn’t know you were going to be chaperoning tonight.”

“Oh yeah, I always get asked to chaperone the dances. I’m pretty low on the totem pole around here. But I don’t mind. Grace wasn’t out in high school—”

“Because I’m from Indiana and I didn’t want to get hate crimed,” Grace interjected dryly.

“So we get to make up for the experiences she missed,” Miss Owens finished, looping her arm through her fiancé’s arm and leaning her head on her shoulder. She waved her free hand in the direction of the dance floor. “Enough hanging around with us old people, go dance. Have fun.”

Lena of course knew how to dance. People who lived in manors named after their family knew how to dance.

As she surveyed the dance floor though she was pretty positive the prim old woman her mother had hired as her dance instructor—who had balanced books on her head and taught her to waltz, would’ve suffered an aneurysm if she saw what constituted for dancing at a high school homecoming dance. She suddenly felt very out of place and wondered what had possibly possessed her to think it was a good idea to attend such an occasion.

“I’m uhhh… I’m more comfortable with the slow dances,” she remarked to Jack after standing in awkward silence for what felt like several long minutes, hoping he wouldn’t think she was the lamest date ever.

He gave her a smile that suggested he did not think she was lame, but that didn’t do anything to make her feel less uncomfortable. “Same. Want me to go get us some punch?”

Lena nodded, “Sure.”

After he walked away, Lena got her first glimpse of Kara as the crowd on the dance floor parted just slightly to reveal a group in the center consisting of Winn, Kara, Lucy, and a few other people Lena recognized from school but didn’t know the names of—all dancing enthusiastically but at very different ability levels. James was standing just off to the side watching with an amused expression on his face, swaying a little bit with the music. Kara had already shed her blazer and was just wearing her vest, with the sleeves of her shirt rolled up. She caught Lena watching her and motioned for her to come join them.

Lena shook her head and Kara gave her a dramatically exasperated look. She probably would not have abandoned her efforts to get Lena out onto that dance floor if Jack hadn’t returned to her side then with her cup of punch. Kara flashed her a smile that reminded her of the one she had given her when she first announced she was going to the dance with Jack before turning her back to her—returning to dancing and letting Winn twirl her around.

Lena took a sip of her punch, keeping her gaze on her friends over the rim of the cup. On the scale of Lucy—who could definitely be a professional dancer if she didn’t have law school aspirations, but would actually probably find a way to do it all—to this one guy Lena was pretty sure was on the football team and had no rhythm to speak of, Kara fell somewhere in the middle. Well… maybe a little closer to Lucy’s end.

A part of her did want to go out there, but the much bigger part of her that was always holding her back—that sounded like her mother’s voice, Lex’s—kept her feet glued in place.

Lex would definitely laugh condescendingly at her for even attending something as stupid as a homecoming dance, let alone making a fool of herself on the dance floor. She hated how much power his opinions on everything, and especially of her, still had over her. Even with him thousands of miles away.

The night continued on, Lucy and James were crowned Queen and King to the surprise of absolutely no one, and the music turned slower, coaxing Lena and Jack out into the crowd of coupled-off pairs. She couldn’t exactly say she had enjoyed her evening so far, but the first slow dance always seemed like a magical moment for the couples in the movies, so she was holding out hope. Hope that it would be the moment when she looked into Jack’s eyes to see something in them that would make her feel different about him.

As they danced, Lena felt that hope start to slip away. He was a good dancer, didn’t step on her toes or try to slide the hand on her back down lower than was gentlemanly. But after a few songs she still felt a whole lot of nothing when their eyes met under the dimmed down lights.

“Thank you for coming with me. I’ve had a really nice night,” he whispered in her ear.

_You have? Seriously?_

Holding back a grimace, she nodded stiffly and lied, “Me too.”

“You’re amazing Lena. I’ve always thought that. Smart. Beautiful. I’m glad we’re finally starting to get to know each other better.”

His hand started to caress her back. Still respectful, a little tentative, but more intimate.

Now she felt something. Unfortunately it was nausea.

She was trying to figure out a way to politely excuse herself when Kara appeared beside them.

“Excuse me, do you mind if I steal her for a second?” Kara asked Jack. She looked to Lena, “I believe I was promised one dance?”

Lena withdrew from Jack without hesitation and he mumbled an _unnecessary-at-that-point “sure,”_ to Kara before walking off. Lena felt a small pang of guilt. Jack was a nice guy, it wasn’t his fault that she wasn’t enjoying herself. She was just being weird, and she wasn’t big on school dances apparently.

She slipped her hand into the one that Kara had outstretched to her, resting her other hand on Kara’s shoulder. Kara wrapped her other arm around her waist, pulling her in close as the next song began to play. Lena immediately felt her whole body start to relax against the familiarity of her best friend.

“You look really beautiful,” Kara whispered.

“Thank you.” Lena pulled back a little bit so she could look at her friend. In her tall heels they were more at eye level than they usually were. Lena didn’t need a fabricated magical moment to like how she felt when she looked into Kara’s eyes. With her, she felt at home. “You do too.”

Kara smiled, squeezing her hand, and they fell silent as they continued to sway to the music, abandoning any practiced steps. When the song started to fade into the next one, disappointment started to creep in at the thought of Kara letting her go. She wanted another song. Just one more.

Instead of releasing her, Kara took both of her hands, tugging her towards the corner of the gym where the line to the photo booth had finally become nonexistent, and they slipped inside.

It was a tight squeeze, resulting in her ending up practically on Kara’s lap as they made silly faces at the camera—or more like, Kara made silly faces and she dissolved into laughter. The countdown started for the last snap and when it hit “1” she impulsively leaned in and pressed a kiss to Kara’s cheek. When she pulled back, there was a faint print left on Kara’s skin and she immediately felt the already small space closing in on her even tighter. She quickly clambered out of the booth before Kara could say anything and reached for the two photo strips that had printed out.

Her first observation was how happy she looked. She thought of the rows of family pictures in the upstairs hallway of her house. Stuffy, formal portraits like they were royalty. The matching expression on the faces of her entire family that was not quite a frown, but not a smile. Definitely never laughter.

Her second observation was the surprised look on Kara’s face in the last picture.

She was mentally debating if she thought it was pleasant surprise or not-so-pleasant surprise when Kara piped up from over her shoulder, “We’re cute.”

_“You and your girlfriend are so cute.”_

Lena felt her heart rate start to speed up. She couldn’t turn around, couldn’t look at Kara, couldn’t decipher anything from her tone of voice.

“There you are. I was wondering where you disappeared to.”

Spinning around, she saw Jack and she shoved the photo strips at Kara—not wanting him to see for some reason. That had been happening a lot lately. A sense of being out of touch with her motivation for doing things, for feeling certain ways. She had never considered herself to be very in touch with her emotions—she remembered watching Frozen for the first time a few years ago, _‘conceal don’t feel,’_ she thought Elsa probably would’ve understood what it was like growing up a Luthor—but lately she seemed completely untethered to any sort of rationality.

Jack gave Kara a weird look before extending his hand to Lena. She took it, letting him pull her away. But not without a glance over her shoulder to see Kara rubbing lipstick off her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lena not putting the pieces together that kara is super gay for her (and that she's super gay for kara) is this au's equivalent to lena not knowing kara's supergirl. i promise i'm not as evil as jessica queller though... i won't drag this out so long ;)


	4. part 4: thanksgiving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How were you supposed to tell the difference between a straight girl who was sporty and a lesbian anyway?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi friends!! sorry for the slight delay in this update, i graduate from college this week and things have been a little chaotic but i'm excited to finally have this done to share with you. definitely going to be at least one more part after this one and maybe possibly some more...? we'll see :D enjoyyyyy!

Lena rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet, trying to generate warmth as she waited in the concessions line. November had fully settled in, and with it came the cheerleaders’ long sleeved uniforms and temperatures that were not conducive to being outside at a football game in. She was earning some _serious_ best friend points with her attendance.

They were hosting the state championship game on their own turf and the excitement in the halls of the school had been palpable all week leading up to the Friday night showdown. Kara had been a mix of confident bravado and nervous energy, and the nervous part had definitely started to rub off on Lena.

For someone who three months ago didn’t even understand the gameplay logistics of football, she found herself to be extremely invested in the outcome of the game. She wanted the win, for Kara. And she supposed for everyone else too.

She pulled Kara’s varsity jacket tighter around her shoulders. Before Kara had departed for the locker room to get ready for the game, she had bestowed the jacket upon her.

_“What—no. I’m not wearing this. It’s not my style and—“ Kara ignored her protests and draped it over her shoulders. “—and… and it’s very warm,” Lena conceded._

_“Yes. And you said last week that you were five minutes away from becoming a human popsicle by the end of the game.”_

_“Well, that might have been me being a little dramatic…”_

There were implications woven into the threads of that jacket. Implications Lena pointedly ignored, even when she spotted Lucy’s tiny frame being completely swallowed by James’ letterman.

She had inched a little closer to front of the line—the concession stand was going to pull record profits with everyone clambering for hot drinks to warm them up from the inside—when she heard her name.

“Hey Lena.”

Turning her head, she saw Jack approaching her and she offered a friendly smile. Things had been… a little awkward between them since homecoming, since she had declined his offer for a second date.

Although his idea of a date being a trip to the traveling exhibit on the history of technology in medicine that was currently at the National City Science Museum _had_ made her think for the briefest of moments that maybe she needed to give things a second chance with him.

Deep down though, she knew she would only be leading him on if she continued to court the possibility that she could develop romantic feelings for him. And she liked him too much— _platonically_ , to do that to him. So she had turned him down in what she hoped came across as the nicest way possible.

And he hadn’t even seemed surprised, disappointed, but not surprised.

Which gave Lena the sense that she hadn’t done as good of a job at pretending she was enjoying herself at homecoming as she had been led to believe. Still, even with the hint of awkward tension of unreciprocated feelings between them, they had managed to finish their programming project and score an A on it.

“Hi Jack.”

His eyes zeroed in on the _Danvers_ that was embroidered in scripted font on the front panel of her jacket and his eyebrows lifted slightly before his face returned to a neutral expression.

“I guess I should…” he gestured to the crowd of people standing behind her. “Get in line.”

“The hot chocolate is good,” she advised.

“Cool.” He tipped his head in acknowledgement and walked off.  

Okay, so maybe, _“a little awkward,”_ was a generous assessment. If she had been standing in line behind her, watching that interaction play out, she would’ve cringed with second hand embarrassment. Luckily, the two girls behind her were scrolling on their phones, completely oblivious.

She made it to the front of the line and ordered a hot chocolate before finding her way to the bleachers where Eliza, Jeremiah, and Winn had saved her a seat. It was a rare occasion that Kara’s adoptive father was able to attend her games, whatever he did for work kept him traveling almost constantly. Kara had been delighted to discover he would be able to attend the State Championship game and had enlisted Lena’s help in ironing on letters to make matching _“My Daughter is the Quarterback,”_ sweatshirts for her parents. Trying to picture Lillian ever wearing something so endearingly tacky was comical.

“Nice jacket,” Winn remarked when she slid in next to him, his tone of voice insinuating the implications she had been avoiding.

As a blush rose in her cheeks, she wondered for a moment how he saw her relationship with Kara. If a random salesgirl mistook them for girlfriends, what about the person who had spent far more time observing their interactions…

No. They were just close friends. Everyone knew that.

She knew that.

“It’s… warm.”

Mercifully, he didn’t press her any further and their attention was drawn by the start of the game.

It was a close match up—as would be expected in a championship game. Both teams traded touchdowns back and forth, and by the final minutes of the fourth quarter they were down by three points and Lena’s nerves were completely frayed.

If they lost, it wouldn’t be for lack of trying though. They were all playing with an intense focus, Kara exceptionally so, shutting down the antics of the opposing team’s quarterback—who had curtsied at her when they lined up across from each other for the National Anthem prior to the start of the game.

_“How dumb do you have to be to make fun of the quarterback who has had the most pass completions in the entire state this season?”_ Winn had muttered.

_“Kara’s had the most pass completions in the state?”_

_“Do you not read my blog?”_

_“Your what?”_

There were mere seconds left in the game when Kara launched a Hail Mary pass down the field that landed right in one of her guys’ outstretched hands before he threw himself over the endzone line. The crowd erupted as the clock ran down to zero and National City officially completed their first undefeated season in decades. Just as Coach J had predicted.

The players on the bench, the cheer squad, and students in the first few rows of the bleachers rushed the field in celebration. James hoisted Kara up onto his shoulders and she held her helmet up into the air triumphantly—strands of sweaty hair plastered to her face, flushed cheeks, and a wide grin. When James turned Kara towards the bleachers, Lena watched her scan the crowd, locking onto her gaze when she found her. Lena matched her smile, mouthing, _“you did it!”_ and for a moment it was just them before Kara was swept back up into the joyous chaos.

She thought back to the first home game of the season. The first game she had ever attended, because somehow Kara had managed to convince her that she should. Had somehow managed to convince her to open herself up to the possibility of friendship. With how close she and Kara were now, sometimes it felt like that night had been years ago, not just a few months.

How different things might’ve been if she had never showed up to that game.

* * *

“We’re home!” Kara called out as she and Lena stepped inside the front door of the Danvers house the Sunday afternoon before Thanksgiving. With football season over, Lena had talked Kara into accompanying her to a spin class to try to burn off some of her endless energy that was making her restless.

Kara had done her best to seem enthusiastic about it, but it was obvious she was not going to become a spin class addict. Still, Lena had enjoyed having her tag along. Enjoyed the view of her in leggings and a sports bra… sweat dripping down her skin, her muscles flexing….

Lena took a sip of her water and pushed that train of thought off the edge of a cliff.

“How was the class? And are you sweaty and gross?” Eliza asked, frowning when she walked into the living room and saw Kara sprawled out on the couch. “Should you be on the furniture right now?”

“Legs too tired. Can’t move,” Kara grumbled. “Exercise is the worst.”

Lena rolled her eyes at the theatrics and nudged her shoulder against hers, “Says the athlete who is always working out.”

“That’s different. That’s training. There’s a point to it.”

Lena was about to bring up several points about the benefits of regular exercise for the general, non-athletic population, but they were interrupted by the sound of the front door opening.

“Alex!” Kara jumped up from the couch—tired legs apparently forgotten, and ran to tackle hug her sister as she entered the foyer. Lena watched the exchange, and then another girl followed Alex inside.

“Maggie!” Kara gave her a hug as well. “I didn’t know you were staying here over break.”

“It was kind of a last minute thing.”

“Because she didn’t tell me that she didn’t have anywhere to go home to until I was literally packing my bag to leave,” Alex interjected.

Maggie turned to address Eliza, “I hope it’s okay.”

“Of course it’s okay honey. Our home is yours.”

“Thank you Mrs. Danvers.”

Alex looked over at Lena sitting on the couch, “So… you’re Lena. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Lena laughed nervously, “All good things I hope.”

Alex glanced over at Kara, lifting her eyebrows, “That’s one way of putting it.”

Lena didn’t get a chance to contemplate what that was supposed to mean because Kara punched Alex in the shoulder.

“Girls! It hasn’t even been 5 minutes!” Eliza intervened before it could turn into a full on wrestling match by announcing that she needed help in the kitchen and dragging Kara away so Alex could take her and Maggie’s bags up to her bedroom in peace.

Lena took that as her cue to go and ducked her head into the kitchen to say goodbye to Kara and Eliza before meeting her driver at the curb.

Later that evening, she was in the middle of her Chemistry homework when she realized that she was humming.

_Humming along to what?_

It was a single repetitive phrase. Just one line of a song.

After a second it hit her. _The song._ The song playing in Kara’s Instagram story from Homecoming—still lingering in her brain somehow.

Pulling her laptop towards her, her curiosity piqued, she typed into Google: _“I’m just curious, is it serious?”_

The first thing that popped up was a music video for a song called _Curious_ and Lena was pretty sure she was on the right track. She hit play and watched as the story unfolded. As the girl walked in with the guy but spent the entire time fixated on the other girl.

Lena gripped the arms of her chair, sunk her teeth into her bottom lip.

She made it all the way to the point where the girls started making out on the bathroom counter before slamming her laptop screen shut with a little more force than the situation warranted. Her heart felt like it was going to leave her body it was beating so fast, and her breathing was loud in her now quiet room.

_This—this was what Kara had been listening to?_

The whole thing felt almost deliberate now—like Kara had been sending her a message and she had completely missed it. Or ignored it. Like she had been ignoring her growing feelings for Kara for weeks.

She cracked open her laptop again and typed in a new search inquiry.

* * *

“I think I’m a lesbian.”

Miss Owens looked up from a book she was reading titled, _“The Road Back to You,”_ and lifted her eyebrows in amusement, “Good morning to you too.”

Lena dropped into the chair across from her desk and shut her eyes with a sigh. “I think I’m in lesbian love with my best friend.”

Miss Owens muttered something that sounded like, _“been there,”_ before more audibly saying, “Okay. I’m assuming you’re here because you want to talk about this…”

“I don’t know what to do.” She opened her eyes and saw the empathy on her guidance counselors face. There was a reason she had come to her—not just because of her job title, but because at some point in her life she must’ve been in her shoes, or at least similar ones. “Usually, when I’m dealing with a situation that brings about unwanted feelings, I just put them in tiny little boxes so that I can pretend they don’t exist—“

“I’m professionally obligated to tell you that is not healthy.”

“Well it doesn’t matter because it’s not working, not this time.” Lena started to feel tears welling up in her eyes and she tried to blink them away. She could practically hear her mother berating her for showing weakness in public. Miss Owens silently nudged the box of tissues towards her and she gave her a weak smile before grabbing one that she just balled in her fist. It had an oddly grounding effect and she was able to speak again, “I’ve never had a close friend before. I don’t know if these feelings are just… what you’re supposed to feel for your best friend, or something more…”

“What makes you think they’re something more?”

“You think I’m just confused, don’t you? That I’ve just never experienced friendship before so—“

“Lena,” Miss Owens interrupted her softly. “I do not think that. However, what I think doesn’t really matter. You have to be the one to figure out what’s true for you. To do that though, you have to start processing what you’re feeling instead of trying to stuff it all inside metaphorical boxes.” She reached across her desk and took a hold of the hand that wasn’t currently destroying a tissue. “And if you want me to be a part of you doing that, that’s why I’m here. Not just to help you get into your dream university.”

Lena nodded, “Okay. I guess when I think about it I’ve always had an… admiration for certain girls. At least that was the only way I knew to describe it. When I started getting close with Kara though, things got confusing… I mean, I’ve been acting completely irrational lately. My emotions are all over the place. I feel like I’m going crazy. And last night I watched a YouTube video called, _‘how to know if you’re a lesbian,’_ and the girl said if I was straight I never would’ve googled that in the first place.” Miss Owens burst into laughter and Lena immediately felt self-conscious, mumbling, “Don’t laugh at me.”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I just had a flashback to middle school Quinn sneaking into the family computer room in the middle of the night to take _‘Am I Gay?’_ quizzes while everyone was asleep and then frantically deleting the incriminating browser history.”

Lena started to laugh too, feeling some of the tension ease out of her shoulders. She had been right to confide in her; it unraveled some of the confusion that had been forming knots inside of her head and heart for the past few months to have someone else’s experience to relate to.

“What about the boy you went to homecoming with?” Miss Owens asked, composing herself. “And I’m not asking that to imply that you just haven’t found the right guy yet, okay? I promise you’re not going to get that BS from me.”

Lena nodded and frowned contemplatively, “If I was going to have a crush on a boy, it would be Jack. He’s smart, and really nice, and I guess handsome. I was trying so hard to make myself feel something for him, but I couldn’t. Whenever he was affectionate with me I was so uncomfortable—the whole night I just felt like I was pretending to be someone I’m not.”

“Meanwhile you’re having these feelings about Kara without even trying…”

“Exactly. Like sometimes when she smiles at me my heart starts beating really fast, and I catch myself staring at her a lot just because she’s so nice to look at, and whenever she’s affectionate with me I feel all warm and giddy,” Lena’s voice faded out into a sigh before adding in addendum, “And that’s what a crush is, right? That’s not just a best friend thing?”

Miss Owens folded her hands, “Let me ask you this, how would you feel if Kara told you today that she was dating someone?”

“Jealous,” Lena answered instantaneously.

“Why?”

“Because I—“ Lena bit her lip, hesitating.

Miss Owens waited patiently for her to finish her sentence, not putting any words in her mouth. They needed to come from her.

_Inhale._

_Exhale._

“Because I want to be her girlfriend. Someone mistook her for my girlfriend one time and I completely freaked out, and I know now it’s because deep down I wished she had been right. I’ve never been able to picture myself in a relationship before, with a guy.” Lena’s eye flitted to the picture frame on the desk that was just slightly turned to her. “But whenever I see you with Grace, I can see myself. With Kara.”

As soon as the words were spoken out loud Lena knew they were the truth she had been suppressing and it felt like a relief… until it didn’t, until a new wave of fear hit her.  “Do you think she feels the same way? Has she ever said anything?”

Sure, there had been the whole Instagram story thing, but that could’ve meant literally nothing. She had probably read into something that just wasn’t there. Or it could’ve been directed towards Lucy… they had kissed before. Was Kara still hung up on her? Did middle school spin the bottle kisses even count? How were you supposed to tell the difference between a straight girl who was sporty and a lesbian anyway?

Lena could feel herself spiraling out and she fought to keep it together, shredding the tissue she had been given.

“Lena,” Miss Owens tilted her head sympathetically. “You know I couldn't tell you even if she had.”

She shook her head, “Right, of course. Confidentiality.” She deflated in her seat a little, “I can’t tell her how I feel. I don’t want to ruin our friendship; I can’t lose her. I feel more at home whenever I’m with Kara then when I’m at my house. If I lose her… I lose that too.”

The brief spat they had during homecoming week had been enough to scare her into never, _ever_ wanting to jeopardize her friendship with Kara.

Miss Owens nodded in understanding, “I know how you’re feeling, believe me, I do. I would never advise you to do something you don’t feel ready for, or comfortable with. But secrets have weight. And I don’t want to see you crushed by yours.”

Lena offered her a weak smile, “I’ve kept it this long, I think I can manage.”

The bell rang and Lena checked the time, realizing she had missed homeroom.

“I’m sending an excused absence notification to your homeroom teacher now,” Miss Owens assured her, turning towards her computer. “I saw that panicked look. Are you good to go to your next class or would you like to stay in here a little longer? I don’t have any appointments booked until later…”

Lena reached for the box of tissues to obtain one that hadn’t been totally decimated and dabbed at her eyes, hoping her makeup wasn’t too much of a mess. “I’m good. I don’t want to miss Calc.”

“Okay. But please don’t hesitate to come to me if you need to talk some more.”

Lena nodded and ducked out of her office, running straight into… Kara. She had on the black track pants with the white stripes down the side that she wore at least twice a week and a plaid flannel open over a gray t-shirt that Lena knew for a fact was very soft. Because she had worn it once after an incident involving them getting completely drenched by a sudden rainstorm while they were out getting donuts.  

“There you are! I was so worried when you weren’t at homeroom and weren’t answering any of your texts and—“ Kara stopped, placing her hands on Lena’s shoulders and getting a look at her face for the first time. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

Lena shook her head, avoiding meeting Kara’s eyes lest whatever she saw in them make her start to cry again, “It’s nothing. I’m okay. I need to get to Calc, but I’ll see you at lunch, okay?”

She scurried away, leaving Kara behind. At lunch, she offered some lame excuse for her tears about feeling a lot of pressure to do well in her classes and needing to talk to Miss Owens about it that Kara seemed to buy—or at least didn’t question.

“You’re too hard on yourself.” Kara started to rub her back and she nearly choked on her salad. “You’re so smart, you’re probably going to like, cure cancer before you even turn 30.”

“Wow remind me to come to you next time I need a pep talk,” Winn said as he sat down at the table across from them.

Kara grinned at him and removed her hand to start eating her sandwich, but Lena still felt the lingering warmth of it bleeding through her sweater. Despite her earlier claim that she could manage keeping a lid on her feelings for Kara, she was starting to think that it was going to be a lot harder than she thought. She had gotten flustered enough around Kara before she had put the pieces together about _why_ her best friend had that effect on her. Now, everything seemed even more magnified. She watched Kara as she ate and talked to Winn, and the others who began to join their table—the way her jaw moved. Her hands, tucking a strand of hair that had fallen from her ponytail behind her ear. The smile she tossed Lena’s way every so often that made her feel like a kaleidoscope of butterflies had taken flight inside of her.

“So, what’s everyone doing for Thanksgiving?” Lucy asked, stealing some of Kara’s chips. “My parents are _pissed_ because Lois took off for Kansas with Clark instead of coming home for her break.”

“I wish my brother was going to Kansas instead of coming home,” Lena muttered, inaudibly to the rest of the group. Lex was due to arrive home on the morning of Thanksgiving so that the three of them could share a meal at the table in the cavernous dining room as if they were a normal family. She wasn’t sure if holidays were better or worse since Lionel died. On the one hand, once he started drinking things rapidly spiraled out of control. On the other, he was the one Luthor who, when sober, had genuinely seemed to care about her.

“I told my foster mom I was going to the Danvers and she said, _‘good, one less mouth to feed,’_ ” Winn remarked dryly, answering Lucy’s inquiry.

Kara lifted her water bottle at him, “I’m glad you’re coming over. I need you to be my game partner since I lost Alex to Maggie.”

Winn smiled, clinking his drink against hers, and envy pooled in Lena’s stomach. What she wouldn’t give to be spending the holiday with the people who felt more like her family than those she shared a last name with.

* * *

Lena waited in the hallway at her usual spot outside of the locker rooms for Kara to finish up after her morning workout. When the door opened, Kara didn’t walk out. Instead, Lena was tugged inside, eliciting from her a yelp of surprise.

“Kara…?”

The door closed behind them and Kara pushed her towards the counter, lifting her up to sit her in between two of the sinks. She felt like her brain was short circuiting as Kara’s hands slid up her thighs, up under her skirt.

_What is going on what is going on what is going on what is going on what is going on—_

“Good morning.”

She swallowed, trying to find words to respond to Kara’s greeting. Her wide-eyed silence elicited a smirk from her friend.

Her friend… whose fingers were digging into her thighs and who was leaning in close like she was going to…

Like she was going to kiss her.

Kara’s lips were millimeters from hers when Lena was suddenly looking at her bedroom ceiling, her chest rising and falling rapidly.  

_A dream. It was a dream. Of course it was a dream._

Of course she had to wake up when she did. She tossed her arm over her eyes, groaning in disappointment. If there were still any doubts about how she felt about Kara—

“What were you dreaming about?”

Lena bolted upright, panic flooding her veins. A scream died in her throat as her eyes focused on the shadowy figure sitting at the end of the bed.

“What the hell Lex? How long have you been in here? Where you just planning on sitting there all night until I woke up?”

She turned her head to glance at her clock and saw that it was 4:53am, not far off from morning.

“Of course not. I just arrived and was about to wake you up. I thought you’d be happy to see me.”

_Well you thought wrong._  

She was still frazzled from the dream she had awoken from and the last thing she wanted to be doing was having an early morning chat with her aspiring sociopath big brother.

Having him in her room, she was struck with the realization that she hadn’t been fully aware of how much easier it had been to breathe the past few months with him away at school. The pressure she felt from her mother was nothing compared to the boulder-sitting-on-her-chest that was Lex. He was unpredictable. Doting brother one moment, cruel stranger the next. Sometimes it felt like she was just another one of his science projects with the way he toyed with her.

She used to crave his validation. Used to be willing to weather Hurricane Lex for a few peaceful moments in the eye of the storm when she would feel like they had a normal brother-sister relationship.

That was before Kara though. Before she learned what a non-patronizing compliment sounded like. Before she knew what being loved actually felt like. Even if Kara only loved her like a sister…

“Couldn’t you have just waited until breakfast?” she asked, sinking back down onto her pillow with a sigh.

_Instead of creeping into my room like a psycho._

Her rude awakening should have been a good indication as to how the next several hours were going to transpire. By 5:13pm she was standing at the door to the Danvers house, wiping away tears and working up the nerve to crash their Thanksgiving dinner invited. Her driver hadn’t pulled away yet, she could turn around and leave without them ever knowing she had been there. Pretend she had never stormed off after being the recipient of what felt like at least the hundredth condescending, belittling comment made by Lillian or Lex before the turkey was even cut at her house. It wasn’t any different than it always was with them, but she was different. She had somewhere to go where she was wanted— _or at least she hoped so._

Checking her makeup with her phone camera she decided that while it wasn’t her best look, she at least didn’t have mascara rivers down her face. And that would have to be good enough.

She pressed the doorbell and waited what felt like an eternity before the door swung open and Alex appeared. From inside the house, Lena heard someone call, _“Who is it Alex?”_

For some reason Lena decided the best course of action would be to act like she had been invited all along. Before Alex could say anything, she presented the serving dish in her hand, “Hi. I brought the sweet potato casserole.”   

It was Lex’s favorite. He would not be happy to discover that she had swiped it from the kitchen staff. Served him right though for calling the algorithm that she and Jack had designed to help diabetics better predict how their blood glucose levels would respond to various scenarios based on past inputs: _“cute,”_ when she told him about it at breakfast.

_Cute?_

_CUTE?!_

Three months of work, involving countless hours spent with a boy who had an unreciprocated crush on her, pages and pages of research articles read on diabetes, and a meeting with an app developer friend of Eliza who was interested in making a user friendly platform for it... and Lex had the audacity to call it cute?

She hoped he cried a little when his plate was served, sans sweet potatoes.

Confusion flickered across Alex’s face for a second—rightfully so, Lena had in fact showed up unannounced and it was obvious she had been crying the entire ride there—before she smiled and took the serving dish, ushering her into the house, “Great! You’re right on time, my dad just cut the turkey.”

She followed Alex into the house, into the dining room where everyone was already seated around the table and in the midst of serving themselves food.

“Lena…” Kara hopped up from her chair and rushed towards her while Alex added her dish to the spread of food and Eliza hurried to add an extra place setting, shoving a chair in between Maggie and Kara.

“I’m sorry for just showing up.” Lena whispered to Kara when her friend took her forearms in her hands. “I should’ve called. This is so rude of me, I—”

“Hey. You don’t have to apologize. What happened?”

Lena started to feel tears prick at her eyes again and she blinked them away, shaking her head, “I just—I couldn’t—“

Kara slid her hands down her arms and squeezed her hands, “Nevermind. It doesn’t matter. I’m just glad you came here. C’mon.”

Lena felt the shards of ice in her heart start to thaw at Kara’s smile and she let her lead her over to the table.

“I didn’t think we were going to get to see you today Lena,” Eliza remarked when Lena sat down in the hastily made up spot across the table from her. “This is a nice surprise.”

“Clearly we have more than enough food to feed an extra person,” Alex remarked. “When mom gave Maggie and I the shopping list I thought she had made a mistake. Five pounds of potatoes? Three bags of dinner rolls?”

Winn passed Alex the basket of aforementioned rolls, “You _have_ seen your sister eat before, right?”  

They all looked down the table to where Kara was in the middle of piling her plate with mashed potatoes and she froze defensively, “What? I’ve got to fuel up if Lena is going to keep dragging me to the spin class from hell.”  

Lena rolled her eyes at the dramatics and everyone else laughed before settling into easy conversation for the rest of the meal.

Every once in a while Kara would rest her hand on Lena’s thigh under the table in a gesture that was probably meant to be comforting, but sent her mind spiraling back to her dream the night before. How was she supposed to just continue on with the way things had been when she knew now that she wanted something more?

She wished she could read Kara’s mind, know if she was wondering the same thing. If she was being honest, while Kara was warm and affectionate with all of her friends, there was a difference in the way she interacted with her. A difference that blurred the line of platonic.

Unless she was just imagining it, because she wanted it to be different.

* * *

“Can I ask you something?”

When you’re keeping a big secret from someone, that question is one that elicits a certain kind of panic.

It was late, the Thanksgiving festivities long over. Once they had finished with dinner, they had migrated to the living room to eat pie and play board games. Lena, Winn, and Kara had taken turns teaming up with each other since their proposal to play as a team of three got vetoed. After a few rounds of Taboo, Pictionary, and half a game of Trivial Pursuit, the group dissolved as Winn went home, Jeremiah and Eliza called it a night, and Alex and Maggie had retreated into Alex’s room to “watch a movie” (Kara had added the air quotations teasingly to Alex’s words, out of her sister’s line of sight).

Lena hadn’t needed to ask if she could spend the night, Kara knew she wasn’t going home—

Did she know that she _was_ home?

—And now they were tucked into Kara’s bed with Lena wearing borrowed pajamas.

Lena tugged the long sleeves of Kara’s sweatshirt down over her palms nervously, _“...Sure…”_

Kara was quiet for a second and Lena thought maybe she had changed her mind before she finally posed her question, “How come you never went out with Jack again after Homecoming? It seemed like you two were perfect for each other, what with being into all the same science-y stuff...”

It was not a question Lena had been expecting and she was glad they were both staring up at the ceiling instead of looking at each other so Kara couldn’t see the expression on her face. There were multiple ways that she could answer the question—with varying degrees of truthfulness.

That tone of Kara’s voice as she phrased the question had that same hint of what definitely sounded like jealousy-that Lena had dismissed as a figment of her imagination before whenever Kara spoke about her Homecoming date. Maybe she wasn’t just imagining everything between them.

_“I’m just curious, is it serious?”_

In a moment of either insanity or bravery—possibly both, Lena decided to test the waters.

“I—“ She took a deep breath, braced herself. “I just don’t think I’m… the boyfriend type.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> didyoutakehimtothepierinsantamonicaforgettobringyourjacketwrapupinemcauseyouwantedto?


	5. part 5: the girlfriend type

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So… You’re not the boyfriend type. But what about the girlfriend type?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow so sorry this took so long to get up, i did not intend to leave y'all on that cliffhanger for so long but writers block hit hard after graduation. hopefully this is worth the wait!

_“I just don’t think I’m… the boyfriend type.”_

The words hung heavy in the air. Lena waited for Kara to react. To say something, anything.

Finally, in a whisper, her friend replied, “Me neither.”

Lena felt some of the tightness in her chest release. Beside her, the mattress shifted and she rolled onto her side to see that Kara had done the same. The room was dark, save for a stripe of moonlight that offered a hazy illumination of her friend’s face as they looked at each other, searching for what they each were implying with their admission.

Kara tentatively reached out a hand and tucked a strand of Lena’s hair behind her ear before brushing her thumb over Lena’s lips. Lena inhaled sharply at the gesture and Kara shifted closer to gently press her mouth to hers for the barest of kisses.

“Is this okay?” Kara murmured when she pulled away and Lena nodded emphatically, her vocabulary escaping her entirely.

Permission granted, Kara went in for another kiss—a less tentative one. In her lifetime, Lena had been the recipient of a few kisses from boys that had left her mystified as to what all the fuss was about. But this, _this_ was what kissing was supposed to feel like. Kara’s hands were cupping her face and her lips were so perfectly soft. She guided Lena onto her back, settling her narrow hips in between her legs before trailing kisses down her neck.

When Lena moaned softly in contentment, Kara abruptly rolled away and screwed her eyes shut, pressing her palms against them, before reopening them.

“What are you doing?” Lena asked with a mix of amusement and bewilderment.  

“Making sure this isn’t a dream.”

Lena propped herself up on her elbow and quirked an eyebrow, “You have dreams like this often?”

Kara turned her head away shyly at her teasing question—ridiculous considering they had just been engaged in tonsil hockey, “Yeah.” She fiddled with the edge of her comforter. “I’ve… I’ve actually had a crush on you since freshman year.”

“What?”

“Honestly at first I wasn’t even sure if that’s what it was—I mean, Alex had just come out and I’ve always looked up to her, wanted to be like her, and I thought maybe I was just… I don’t know, projecting her sexuality onto myself? Especially since I was already sort of a tomboy. So for two years I tried to ignore whatever it was that I was feeling for you, dismiss them as me just getting nervous around you because you’re so smart, and pretty, and intimidating.”

_What?_

She had confused the telltale signs of a crush with intimidation over how popular Kara was. It had never occurred to her that Kara was nervous around _her._

Kara continued, “So I got the idea at the beginning of this school year that we just needed to be friends and then I would get over it, whatever _it_ was. Clearly that didn’t work out the way I planned. When we started spending so much time together... it became obvious that it was more than just nervous butterflies, what I felt for you. The more I talked to Alex and Maggie, the more comfortable I was with those feelings, and with what they meant about me. I still didn’t know what to about you though, because I didn’t think you liked girls. Like that. And then when I did start to think that maybe you felt the same way about me that I did about you…”  

“Then I went to homecoming with Jack?” Lena supplied for her.

“Yeah.” Kara dipped her head. “That was confusing. I thought I had imagined everything.”

“You didn’t. I was just… I was confused.”

“But not anymore?”

Lena reached over and intertwined her fingers with Kara’s, “No. Definitely not.”

For all the uncertainty she had been feeling over the past few months, everything was in perfect clarity now.

“So…” Kara’s thumb stroked the back of her hand. “You’re not the boyfriend type. But what about the girlfriend type?”

Giddiness bubbled up inside Lena, “Are you asking me to be your girlfriend?”

It seemed silly for her to even ask, considering everything there already was between them, but Lena liked the officiality of it.

“Would you say yes?”

“You actually think I would say no?”

“Well… coming out is a big deal. I don’t want to push you into labels you’re not ready for.”

It was a big deal. But it occurred to her that the only person she had really been afraid of finding out about her feelings for Kara was Kara. And now that Kara knew—and she wasn’t going to lose her…

So much of what she had been taught—directly and indirectly—by her family was how to put on a carefully constructed mask so the world would perceive her a certain way. Perceive the Luthors in a certain way by proxy. Smoke and mirrors.

She wanted to be her own person, make a name for herself outside of her family someday. Being honest about who she loved felt like an important step in that direction.

“If you’re ready. I’m ready.”

Kara laughed quietly, “I don’t think anyone is going to be too shocked. And Lucy and Winn are both bi, so it’s not like we won’t have supportive friends. Plus several guys on the team have already more than once referred to you as my girlfriend—not sure if they were joking or genuinely confused, but I think they’ll be cool about it.”  

“I feel like not much is really going to change, we already spend so much time together…”

And, if they were both being honest, the lines of a platonic relationship had already long been blurred.

“Mmmm… except now I can do this.” Kara leaned in to press a kiss to her lips and Lena smiled against her mouth.

“Yeah,” she sighed when Kara pulled away. “That’s nice.”

Kara yawned and Lena glanced over at the clock to see it was nearing 1am. It seemed like forever ago that she had showed up on the Danvers doorstep for dinner.

“We should probably go to sleep,” she remarked. “But I’m really glad we finally talked about this.”

“Me too. Now we can cuddle.” Lena raised an eyebrow at her and Kara amended, “Now we can cuddle without the excuse that it’s just to keep you warm.”

_“Think we might actually make it through the whole night without you stealing all my covers?” Lena asked teasingly. Sleeping over at the Danvers had become a regular occurrence, and every time without fail she ended up waking up with barely a scrap of the sheets still covering her._

_“Don’t worry. I’ve got a plan.”_

_“Wha—“ the words died in Lena’s throat as Kara curled herself around her._

_“There,” Kara mumbled against her shoulder. “I’ll keep you warm.”_

Being spooned by her best friend definitely had not helped with the _confusing emotions_ situation. But now there was no confusion, just Kara’s comforting embrace as their legs tangled together and their fingers intertwined.

“I’m sorry it took me so long to be honest with you,” Kara whispered as Lena was starting to drift off. “I just was so afraid of losing your friendship if you didn’t feel the same way.”  

Lena almost laughed at the irony, “Me too.”

“From now on, no secrets?”

Lena squeezed her hand in agreement, “No more secrets.”

“Unless it’s like, for a surprise party. I love surprise parties,” Kara added.

Lena breathed out an amused laugh as she slipped into sleep.  

* * *

The next morning they came downstairs to find Alex and Maggie in the kitchen eating leftover pie for breakfast. They hadn’t discussed how they were going to start telling people that they were together and Lena glanced at Kara to see if she would take the lead.

“Maggie, you were right,” Kara announced, opening the silverware drawer and fishing out a fork.

“I’m right about a lot of things. You’re going to have to be more specific.”

“Lena’s not straight.”

Lena’s eyes widened in surprise and she nearly dropped the plate of pie that Alex had just handed her.

So _that_ was how they were going to start telling people.

“Told you.” Maggie took a sip of her coffee. “I can spot a lesbian from a mile away. That’s why I’m going to be a good detective.”

Alex lifted an eyebrow at her, “Flawless gaydar will make you a good detective?”

Maggie swatted at her shoulder, amending, “My _observational skills_ will make me a good detective.”

“What gave me away?” Lena asked Maggie.

Prior to Thanksgiving dinner, she hadn’t had many significant interactions with Alex and her girlfriend since they arrived at the Danvers’ for their break. Lena had been over at the house the day before Thanksgiving for homework, and had stayed for dinner when Alex and Maggie brought home take-out to share—but that had been _after_ she had her revelation in Miss Owens office and she thought she had been acting pretty guarded around Kara…

“No one looks at their platonic friend the way you two look at each other.”

...Apparently not.

“And by that she means you two shamelessly check each other out,” Alex added. “You’ve got to work on your subtlety sis, you can’t just have a conversation with her boobs.”

Kara glared at her, stuffing a bite of pie in her mouth and Lena took a sip of coffee to stifle a laugh.

“In all seriousness though, I’m proud of you two for being brave enough to be honest with yourselves and each other. I remember how hard that was for me to take that step of putting myself out there and being vulnerable.” Alex looked over at Maggie with a fond smile, “Worth it though.”

Kara looped an arm around Lena’s waist and gave her a matching smile, “Definitely worth it.”

She stayed the entire weekend at the Danvers house, not a word from any of her family members inquiring into where she had taken off to. When Sunday night rolled around, the return to school looming, Lena knew she had to go home and face the music. Reluctantly, she texted her driver to come pick her up, said goodbye to Kara, and nervously fidgeted in the backseat of the car the entire way to the Luthor manor.

“Your brother wasn’t happy that you took the sweet potatoes with you,” was how her mother greeted her when she found her in her office.

“Sucks to be him,” Lena muttered. Her mother returned to whatever she was looking at on her computer and irritation flared up inside of her. Sometimes she wished she would at least pretend to act like a normal mother. “You’re not even going to ask where I’ve been?”

“I know exactly where you’ve been. You’re rather predictable.” Lillian spared her a brief glance, “I naively thought you might’ve at least indulged me a family dinner though, being it a holiday.”

She said it as though family dinners were a regular occasion that Lena had been skipping out on. As if before she had started spending time at the Danvers house she hadn’t eaten her meals alone in her room because no one was home and the dining room sat cavernously empty.  

“You had your golden boy. I’m sure you didn’t miss me that much.”

Like a twist of the knife, Lillian didn’t deny it, but instead said, “The only people you can really rely on are your family, everyone else will eventually abandon you. Try and remember that.”

A biting remark formed on her tongue but she swallowed it, deciding it wasn’t worth it to continue arguing with her. Instead, she turned on her heel to head for the stairs up to her bedroom, unsure of why she had even come home in the first place.

Because she needed her school things, she reminded herself. Because tomorrow was Monday and she had school... and it would be the first time she walked down the halls with her girlfriend.

She was brushing her teeth when her phone buzzed with a text.

**KARA: was your mom mad at you??**

Lena closed her eyes, swallowed the bitterness bubbling up inside of her.

**LENA: no**

**LENA: she didn’t even care that i left :/**

**LENA: i’m even more invisible when lex is around**

**LENA: i don’t know how to outshine him**

**KARA: nonsense**

**KARA: you >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> lex**

**LENA: thanks**

**KARA: i mean it**

**KARA: i won’t let her convince you that you’re anything less than amazing**

**KARA: talented**

**KARA: brilliant**

**KARA: showstopping**

**KARA: spectacular**

**LENA: are you quoting lady gaga at me?**

**KARA: maaaaybe**

**KARA: ❤️**

**LENA: ❤️**

**KARA: see you tomorrow!!!**

* * *

Lena waited outside the locker room in her usual spot. Coach J had given the team a brief reprieve after their state championship win but that had ended with their return from Thanksgiving break, and they were back to morning workouts in the weight room now. Jittery excitement ran like electricity through her body giving her the sensation that she had taken a few espresso shots for her breakfast instead of the green smoothie she had made.

Before she started hanging out with Kara she had consumed things like acai and kombucha and kale salads regularly. Her friend— _girlfriend_ —was truly a terrible influence on her dietary habits. (The one time she had made Kara try some of her kombucha at lunch, the queen of theatrics had acted like she had tried to poison her.) Between the frequent trips through the Big Belly Burger drive through, and Postmates delivered pot-stickers while they studied, and _leftover Thanksgiving pie for breakfast for the three days prior_ , her body had been crying out for some nutrients.

While she ruminated on whether or not she could convince Kara to go on a date—the thought that _dates_ were a category of occasion they could classify time together as now didn’t do anything to quell the jitters—to the new French restaurant that had just opened downtown, the clock ticked to 7:45am and the door to the locker room swung open on cue.

“Goodmorni—eep!” Lena startled as she was pulled inside the locker room.

Kara closed the door behind them and pressed her against the wall, one hand resting on her hips and the other caressing her face. “Good morning.”

As Kara started to lean in for a kiss, Lena remarked, “I had a dream like this one time.”

A smirk turned up the corner of Kara’s mouth, “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. Except I was sitting on the counter and—” Her cheeks undoubtedly turned red at the sudden thought that she regretted that she was wearing pants instead of a skirt with a hemline for slipping hands under. For dreamlike accuracy.  

“Oh, well,” Kara started to take a step back, “We can move.”

Lena shook her head and tugged Kara in by the strings on her hoodie, “Just kiss me.”

Kara happily obliged.

They lingered until it became apparent they would be late for homeroom if they didn’t untangle. There were traces of lipstick on Kara’s mouth that Lena wiped away for her while Kara smoothed out her blouse—

“Ok that was obviously just an excuse to make a pass at my boobs.”

Kara blinked innocently, “Hmm?”

Rolling her eyes and turning away to hide the smile she couldn’t keep off her face, Lena took Kara’s hand and led her out of the locker room.

“How was your workout?” Lena asked as they walked hand in hand down the hallway towards homeroom.

“As obnoxious as those boys can be sometimes, and it was nice having a break, I miss practicing with them when it’s the off-season. So I’m actually kind of glad Coach J has us back in the weight room already. It was fun.”

“I still can’t believe you like working out with them more than me.”

“Only because you like doing absolutely insane things like spin classes.”

“I feel like you need to give it another try.”

Kara said ‘maybe’ in a way that sounded like ‘no’ before changing the topic, “I told James about you and me when he was spotting my bench press, I hope that was okay.”

“We said we weren’t going to keep it a secret…”

Their conversation came to a halt when they encountered Winn and Lucy, who were in the middle of an argument about—well, it sounded like it was about the finale of Dancing with The Stars, but she wasn't entirely sure. The captain of the cheer squad and head of the IT club were an unlikely pair of friends, but they had gotten closer ever since Kara had started hanging out with her, and subsequently slightly less time with the both of them.

Winn looked over at Kara and Lena at their approach and when his eyes dropped to their hands clasped together, his rebuttal to Lucy was forgotten as he sighed dramatically, “ _Finally._  This better mean what it looks like it means. It was starting to get painful watching you two be so clueless.”

"Yes, Winn, it means what you think it means," Kara assured him.  

“Wait.” Lucy tilted her head, her brow furrowed, “You two haven’t been dating for like, weeks?”

“Uhhh…”

Winn turned to Lucy, “Did you miss the entire homecoming drama?”

“Lena took Jack Spheer to the dance as her beard because she’s not out to her family yet but Jack didn’t know he was a fake date until she and Kara snuck away to make out in the photo booth and he caught them. That drama?”

“What?” Kara, Lena, and Winn chimed unanimously.

Lucy threw up her hands defensively at their confused expressions, “I don’t know. I was busy being queen. That’s just what I heard from some of the girls on the squad...”

“That’s not…”

“That didn’t happen…”

_“What?”_

Lucy shrugged, “Whatever. I’m happy for you obviously.” She waved a hand between them, “Major power couple.”

Kara glanced over at Lena with an amused expression before addressing Lucy, “Thanks Luce.”

Lucy spotted James then, walking off to him, and Kara and Lena rounded on Winn, “Did you know that rumour was going around?”

“I swear that is my first time hearing any of that. The drama I was referring to was you,” he gestured to Kara, “being vocally annoyed that Jack asked Lena out while trying to act like it somehow wasn’t because you were jealous. I don’t know how Lucy missed all of that, she must have been really distracted with her campaign, because for at least two weeks leading up to the dance it was a never ending stream of—” He started a poor imitation of Kara, “I don’t even know what she sees in him like wouldn’t she have way more fun if she came with me—us, I mean _us_.”

Lena laughed and Kara glared at him, insisting that she didn’t sound like that.

“Whatever you say Danvers. I’m just glad you two finally realized you’re girlfriends because I think practically everyone else at school figured it out before you did.”   

* * *

**7 Months Later**

Lena reached for a handful of bobby pins to start securing her bun. When she was done with her hair, she paused to look at the array of pictures that had accumulated around the edge of her mirror. Evidence that this year had been different for her. That she was different. The photo strip from homecoming. One of her sandwiched between Kara and Winn dressed in their costumes for Guys and Dolls after their opening night performance. Another of Alex, Maggie, Kara, and her in front of the Danvers tree on Christmas morning in matching pajamas that Eliza had gotten them. A selfie of her and Kara out on a date. One from the day she and Lucy showed up to school wearing the same dress.

She had been so lonely before, but now she had friends, family—if not in name, but in all the ways that mattered.

Standing up from her vanity, she walked over to her closet and pulled out the dress she had bought for Miss Owens’ wedding. Her guidance counselor had slipped her the invitation when she had stopped by her office on the last day of school.

_“I just wanted to thank you, for all of your advice. This has been a really good school year, in so many unexpected ways.”_

_Miss Owens smiled, “You’re welcome. I’m really proud of you Lena. A basically perfect score on your SATs, A’s in all of your classes, a project being developed into an app, and you still managed to make some new friends and have some fun in the process.”_

_“And I have a girlfriend,” Lena added, unable to contain the giddiness in her voice. Even months later she was still getting used to it._

_“Which reminds me…” Miss Owens opened her desk drawer and pulled out an envelope to hand to her. “You’re allowed a plus-one.”_

With a glance over her shoulder to confirm that Kara was watching, Lena let her robe slip off her shoulders onto the floor, leaving herself in just a matching set of pale blue lingerie. In their reflection in the mirror, she saw Kara’s expression shift, her tongue dart out to lick her lips, and Lena smiled in satisfaction.

When things had first started to shift in their relationship, she had been worried about insecurities rearing their heads that she hadn’t dealt with before. It wasn’t that she thought she was unattractive… she just didn’t have much experience with being exposed and vulnerable with anyone.

_“Are you sure?” Kara whispered as Lena started to fiddle with the top button of her dress shirt. They had returned from a dinner date to an empty home as both Eliza and Jeremiah were away for their respective jobs. Up until that point they had mostly been exploring clothes-on make-out territory, with the occasional discarded shirt. It seemed like an opportune time to… take things a step further between them._

_Lena tugged her bottom lip in between her teeth and nodded, slipping free the button, before pausing, “I don’t really know what I’m doing though.”_

_Kara gently tipped her chin up so their eyes met, “We’re both pretty smart. I think we’ll figure it out.”_

Having Kara undress her—reverently map her bare skin with hands calloused from the weight room and soft kisses, made her feel more beautiful than any of her favorite outfits.

Right now though, she could only tease, or they wouldn’t make it to the wedding on time.

“Will you help me zip my dress?” she asked, stepping into it and pulling it over her shoulders before Kara got any ideas elseways.

Kara hopped up from the bedside chair eagerly and made her way over to her.

She crouched down to trail kisses up her back, dragging the zipper in her wake as she stood up, before dipping her head to press a kiss to her cheek.   

“You look beautiful.”  

Fishing her phone out of her pocket, Kara snapped a photo of them in front of the mirror with her hugging her from behind. In her light blue button down and navy dress pants, and Lena in her blue and yellow floral print dress, they made a nicely coordinated pair.

“I’m going to miss you when you leave for Kansas,” she lamented. She would be busy, Eliza had arranged an internship for her at the research lab she worked at—something she was excited for, as it would look great on her MIT application—but not having Kara around for a whole month of their summer break was not something she was looking forward to.

“You should come to Kansas. I know it’s not as exciting as Europe, and you have your internship with my mom, but they just got two new horses and I know you love to ride, so maybe you could at least fly out for a week of my visit—”

Lena turned around in her arms, “Are you serious?”

“Right, it was a stupid suggestion I just—“

“No, no, no. I would love to go with you. But are you sure it would be okay with your family? I don’t want to be a burden.”

Kara frowned, “You’re not a burden, I’m inviting you as my guest. I’ll call Aunt Martha and double check, but I can’t imagine her saying no. You might have to get your hands a little dirty though and help out with some farm chores.”

Lena shrugged, “Sounds like fun?”

She couldn’t help the little question mark at the end. What “farm chores” consisted of was a little unclear.

But if there was one thing she had learned her junior year—other than triple integrals, stoichiometry, and the key figures of the middle ages, it was that there was more to life than just looking forward to the future. She wanted to enjoy the present, all the remarkable moments it could hold. Even if that meant stepping outside of her comfort zone and expanding her definition of fun a little bit… _or a lot._

Kara grinned and pressed a kiss to her forehead, “Of course it’ll be fun.”   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'll be posting an epilogue to conclude this that (fingers crossed) should be up sometime next week :D


	6. epilogue: kansas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara gasped, “Have I converted you into a football fan?”
> 
> “I miss watching you play, I really do.” Lena turned around to straddle her lap and loop her arms around her neck. “So maybe I’m not exactly a football fan, but I’m definitely a Kara Danvers fan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi friends! we made it to the end! enjoy this short epilogue from Kara's POV to close out this AU :D

Kara’s legs bounced excitedly in the backseat of Clark’s truck as they drove to the airport in Wichita. All of the Luthor family private jets had been oh so conveniently tied up with other travel arrangements that week, which Lena had translated as: _“my mom is trying to make it difficult for me to come see you, but I would fly economy in between two snoring old men if that’s what it took to get to Kansas. I mean, I’m flying first class, but if necessary I would endure economy for you.”_

Lois sat in the passenger seat in front of her, her hand intertwined with Clark’s free one in his lap. After two weeks of watching her cousin and his girlfriend be disgustingly in love she was fully envious and ready for her girlfriend to arrive. They had been Facetiming every night, and while she enjoyed seeing her girlfriend wearing an assortment of t-shirts she had stolen from her to sleep in while she enthusiastically rambled on about her internship, it was still no substitute for face to face. This stretch of time had been the longest they had spent apart since becoming friends (and then more than friends), and she missed her terribly. A part of her was nervous that Lena, who had spent her last summer touring the Louvre and boating down the Grand Canal in Venice, would think anything there was to do in Kansas dull in comparison. But she was determined to make the next week they had together a memorable one.  

**LENA: plane just landed**

**LENA: meet at baggage pick-up #4??**

**KARA: YAY!! see you soon ❤️**

**LENA:**  ❤️

Clark dropped her off at the airport entrance and told her to text when he should circle back around to pick them up. Inside, she found the baggage claim area designated for the flight from National City and looked around the gathered crowd for Lena. Spotting her staring intently at the baggage conveyor belt, her bottom lip tucked nervously between her teeth because her suitcase was probably not the type that was meant to be jostled, Kara made a beeline for her. Lena looked up just as she was approaching and her face broke into a grin.

“Hey stranger,” Lena reached up to turn Kara’s baseball cap backwards so the brim wouldn’t hit her in the face when she rolled up onto her toes for a kiss.

“I missed you,” Kara kept her arms wrapped around her waist to keep her close when she pulled back from the kiss.

“It’s only been two weeks.”

“That’s practically forever.”

“What are you going to do when we’re in college?”

“Stop, no. I’m not ready to think about that. We don’t have to think about that yet.” They still had senior year and a million memories to make before they had to think about college and the very real possibility that they could end up on opposite ends of the country at different universities. “How was your flight?”

“It was good.”

“No snoring old men?”

“No snoring old--Oh, there’s mine,” Lena pointed out her suitcase as it passed them on the conveyor belt.

Kara went to retrieve it for her, wheeling it along and using her free hand to hold Lena’s as they headed for the exit to wait for Clark and Lois to pull back around.  

“Wait until you see these shirts your mom bought us,” Lena remarked as Kara loaded her suitcase into the bed of the truck after being assured that it wasn’t her nicest luggage and could handle a little jostling.

Kara opened the door to the truck and gave Lena a hands up into the backseat, “Oh?”

Once she was settled in and had been introduced to Clark and Lois, Lena reached into her tote bag and pulled out a t-shirt to hand over. Unfurling it, Kara read, _“America Needs Lesbian Farmers,”_ emblazoned onto the front and laughed.

When she had been in Kansas visiting Clark the summer before she had still been so unsure of her feelings, unsure of why she couldn’t stop daydreaming about that girl from school.

Now that girl was sitting beside her and she had never been more sure of anything. It was like falling for Lena had given her a new pair of glasses to see herself more clearly with.

She intertwined her fingers with Lena’s, “I’m really glad you’re here.”

“Me too.”

* * *

“So you want to put your ring finger and pinky in between the laces,” Kara instructed as she positioned Lena’s hand on the football. For the past few days she and Clark had been tossing the football around after dinner while Lena read on the front porch steps. Clark and Lois had gone into town for dinner that evening though and Kara had given Lena her best puppy dog eyes to convince her to step in for her cousin. “Feet shoulder width apart for a solid foundation. You want to be able to use your whole body to propel the ball.” She imitated the throwing action in slow motion and Lena nodded in understanding.

Kara jogged out a few yards and called to her, “Okay, let’s see it!”

Lena’s face took on the focused expression usually reserved for homework and science projects as she pulled her arm back and prepared to toss the ball.

It went a little high, but otherwise was a pretty impressive first attempt at a pass. Kara jumped up to catch the ball before it had a chance to go over her head and beamed at her girlfriend proudly. “Nice!”

Lena shrugged, “I’m not completely un-athletic. I play tennis.”

“You do?”

“And golf. The only time of the year that I’m better than Lex in my mother’s eyes is this annual golf outing at our country club. She always picks me over him as her partner for it because he sucks at golf. It always made him furious during our lessons growing up.”

“Wow, okay. Hidden talents much?”

“I don’t play as much as I used to. For a while I thought I might play tennis at MIT, but my mom convinced me it would be a pointless distraction from my studies.”

“Your mom really knows how to suck the fun out of life.”

“Yeah.”

Kara could tell she didn’t want to continue the conversation further so she raised her arm to pass the ball back to her, “Ready?”

Lena nodded and Kara let the ball fly. When Lena caught the ball, cradling it to her chest, Kara remarked, “A little more coaching and you could join the team for next year.”

Even from a distance Kara could see her roll her eyes in amusement, “Yeah, I think I’ll stick to the bleachers.”

* * *

Kara traced her fingertips over a constellation of freckles that had darkened on Lena’s shoulder after a week of being out in the sun. Every morning at breakfast Lena had been quick to volunteer her help with whatever needed to be checked off the to-do list on the fridge despite everyone’s insistence that she didn’t have to spend her visit earning her keep. She had been joking when she told Lena that she would have to help out with farm chores, but having her to work alongside with _had_ made tasks like weeding the garden and giving the chicken coop a fresh coat of paint more fun than they would’ve been had she gone it alone. And they had still had plenty of time for riding horses around the property, taking (well earned) afternoon naps in the hammock under the shade of the big oak trees, swimming in the lake, beating Clark and Lois at Trivial Pursuit, and driving into town for banana splits.

“I wish you didn’t have to go home tomorrow,” she lamented, pressing a kiss between Lena’s shoulder blades before starting to massage her tight muscles. They had spent a large portion of the morning with Clark hauling and stacking wood from a tree that had fallen down during a storm and the soreness was starting to settle in.

Lena sighed, “I know, but I need to get back to my internship. And it’s only another week and a half until you’ll be home too.”  

“I guess I can survive that long.”

Lena groaned in response as she found a knot and worked her thumbs into it. “I can’t remember the last time I was this sore.”

“I can. Football pre-season training camp last summer. And I can’t imagine Coach J taking it any easier on us this year with a winning record to uphold.”

Lena tipped her head back to look at her, “Well, then it’s a good thing you’ll have a girlfriend to take care of you this year. I give good shoulder rubs too you know.”

“I know you do.”

“I can’t believe I’m about to say this but I think I’m actually excited for football games to start up again.”

Kara gasped, “Have I converted you into a football fan?”

“I miss watching you play, I really do.” Lena turned around to straddle her lap and loop her arms around her neck. “So maybe I’m not exactly a football fan, but I’m definitely a Kara Danvers fan.”

Kara couldn’t help the grin that spread across her face and she tilted her chin up in invitation for a kiss. “I love you.”

Three words that she had learned Lena hadn’t heard nearly enough in her seventeen years. She knew she couldn’t make up for years of her girlfriend being made to feel like she could never do enough to earn the love her family had withheld from her, but she was determined to try.

Lena gave her a soft smile and pressed her lips against hers, “Love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've already got an idea for my next au.... and it's a little bit inspired by killing eve so make sure you're following me on twitter for updates and keep an eye out for that ;)

**Author's Note:**

> come chat with me on twitter @mo_writes or tumblr @mogirl97 :D


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